The Fundamentals of Faking
by Lisica
Summary: Celebrity AU. Percy Jackson is an arrogant rock star and man whore. Annabeth Chase is a kind singer-songwriter and America's Sweetheart. Sparks fly (of hate and annoyance at least) when the two meet, but it doesn't matter since they have to pretend to date to save Percy's band. Will they succeed or go down in flames? (M for language & allusion to adult themes) Cover: viria
1. Chapter 1: Fighting and Feuds

**A/N** : Hi everyone! I'm so glad you clicked on this story! I will be updating regularly over the weekends until my stockpiled chapters run out. Reviews are appreciated as long as they are constructive. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** Most characters in this story, especially all of the major ones, belong to Rick Riordan and affiliated organizations, not me.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Fighting and Feuds  
**

Annabeth walked into the studio holding a cappuccino. It was far too early by celebrity time, but maybe that's why she had to be there—the pesky paparazzi would not leave Annabeth alone if they were paid to. And Annabeth couldn't blame them. Photos of Annabeth were desired in every tabloid. At twenty years old, Annabeth Chase had three award-winning albums she had written herself under her belt and a sense of style enviable by most females under 30, not to mention her curly blonde hair and perfect appearance. Annabeth almost caught herself grumbling about her seeming perfection, but decided she shouldn't take what she had for granted and turned her thoughts to wondering what Reyna had in store for her.

Upon entering the break room, Annabeth dropped her bag and cappuccino on the coffee table and snuggled into the low couch waiting for her. Annabeth stayed in a state of semi-consciousness until Reyna cleared her voice. "Annabeth," Reyna called, bringing Annabeth to attention. "Can you please at least try to be awake?"

Annabeth quickly jolted up and tried to pretend she didn't want to be in bed. She surveyed her surroundings and saw Reyna in a swivel chair, resisting the impulse a lesser human would have to spin in it, an old man in a wheel chair, and a lanky boy with jet black hair and sea green eyes who sat on the other side of the couch. As soon as she made eye contact with the boy, he smirked. "Hey, I don't know why we're here, but this is boring. Want to go have some fun?" he said, following his question with a wink.

Gaping for a moment, Annabeth quickly came to her senses, leading her to pick up the nearest pillow, lean over, and hit the stranger. "Do not." Hit. "Speak." Hit. "To me." Hit. "Like that." Hit. "That is so disrespectful!" she cried, hitting him one more time for good measure.

"Annabeth! Do not hit our guest," Reyna commanded at the same time that she heard the old man say "Percy!". Annabeth took one look at Reyna's raised eyebrows and the angry glint in her eye, before she knew she shouldn't have reacted that way, regardless of mystery boy's behavior. "Apologize to him."

"What am I? Twelve? Reyna, I hired you to be my manager. You can't tell me who to apolo-" Annabeth stopped upon receiving a glare as sharp as daggers from her manager. "Fine," Annabeth grumbled. "I'm sorry."

"Wait, what did you say?" the boy—Percy—asked cheekily. His deep voice would have been soothing had it not insulted Annabeth's sensibilities less than five minutes prior. "I didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said a little louder.

"For what?" Percy asked, feigning innocence.

Oh boy, Reyna was going to kill Annabeth. "For the fact that you're a jerk," Annabeth could get out before she started laughing. There was nothing remotely funny, except for Reyna's surprise at being disobeyed and Percy's surprise that someone would call him that.

"Hey!" Percy started, before the old man called his name and tried to calm him through his chuckle.

Upon hearing the name Percy a second time, Annabeth thought she had heard of a Percy and seen a face that looked like his somewhere, but she couldn't quite place it. Hollywood was huge, and she didn't know if he was a musician like her or some new actor, but it was probably in the heartthrob section of a magazine, because he definitely looked like he could be. He had beautiful sea green eyes, and his arms were perfectly toned but not too large, and Annabeth was positive he had a six pack, but to prevent herself from getting lost in his looks, she reminded herself of the words from his mouth. "Look, you're pretty rude. I don't know if that line gets you any girls, but that's not how you speak to women, and the fact that you would speak to me like that offends me," Annabeth said, holding his gaze level.

Percy gazed right on back. "Oh my god," he said softly. "You sound like such a prude. No wonder no one has wanted to be with you for the past two years."

Annabeth seethed. She tried to maintain what little composure she had left so as not to incur Reyna's wrath. "Do not speak to me like that. That is so disrespectful. You can't just slap a label on a woman like that just because she doesn't want to be with you! Why would my love life even have any significance to you?"

"Oh, well I'm glad you mention that, Annabeth…" Reyna trailed off. Although Reyna seemed to be made of stone 90 percent of the time, she was faltering, which meant that she was dreading telling something to Annabeth. Annabeth felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What is it, Reyna?" Annabeth demanded at the same time that Percy muttered "What?"

"Well you see… We're all here because Chiron and I decided that it would be best if you two were to… pretend to date…" Reyna looked over at Chiron to finish the explanation.

Annabeth's mouth hung open as Chiron continued the proposal. "My team has decided that Percy needs a girlfriend because his image is getting too crazy for the band, and Reyna thinks it's time for you to get yourself back out there, Annabeth."

The gears in Annabeth's mind finally started slowly turning. Percy… Band… Crazy… Jackson. It hit her who the jerk next to her was. "You're Percy Jackson!" she said crossly to him, while he looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Yeah… I know? I think I know who I am. I can't believe you didn't realise 'til now."

"Ok yeah… Well I'm tired," Annabeth spat out. "You think I'm going to help Percy's image? I thought his image was supposed to be 'Too cool to settle down' or something. And what about my image?"

"Percy's image is supposed to be somewhat rock star, but he's getting out of control." Percy reddened in the corner of Annabeth's vision. "Although it's okay for rock stars to sleep with women, Percy is so close to accidentally becoming a father, and my research has also shown that the public is reacting negatively to his current behavior." Chiron turned to Percy. "It's okay to make the ladies think they can get you, Percy, but they don't want you if they think it's just one sexual encounter. Stumbling around being a disrespectful drunk also isn't garnering any love among the public. We think it's best if you minimize your public appearances to performances and a few dates."

"Chiron! You cannot force me to date this girl! Yeah, she's hot, but she clearly doesn't want me!" Percy protested.

"And you, Annabeth," Reyna continued, ignoring Percy. "You need to get out now after two years. I know you're enjoying being single, but it's almost as though you're trying to prove a point! And you very well know your image won't suffer from Percy. You dated Luke Castellan, who is by far the biggest bad boy in this business, no matter how hard Percy tries—Sorry Percy," Reyna said, eliciting a grumble from the boy. "The point is that your image is still intact. You are still the 'Girl Next Door' and the most loved by everybody. Please just help out some friends in the music business."

"Absolutely not!" Annabeth yelled, cheeks flushed from the mention of Luke, the indignity of the request, or both. "Even if my image is bulletproof as you say, I only date if I feel a connection! I actually felt something with Luke, no matter how weird that may seem in retrospect, but I would not date Percy even if you threatened my life! He insulted me and he obviously has no respect for me or wish to be with me."

"Fine," Reyna sighed. "I guess I'll just have to refer this to Drew's manager. Maybe Drew could use the publicity of dating Percy. Plus I'm sure Percy will like her. She's very pretty," she said, looking knowingly at Percy, then smirking at Chiron.

Annabeth had an internal conflict in her head. She absolutely could not stand Percy. On the other hand, Percy did absolutely nothing to deserve dating the evil that was Drew. Drew was starting in the music business a few years after Annabeth, so Annabeth showed her the ropes. Annabeth had never adored Drew, but any time she could help a person, she would. Then, Drew spread rumors about Annabeth sleeping with each of Drew's flings, while Drew then tried in private to steal each of Annabeth's successive boyfriends. Annabeth cut off all ties with Drew, and the feud calmed down when Drew turned her eye to modeling, only occasionally releasing a single, but Annabeth would not give anything else to the witch.

She braced herself and looked up. "Fine," Annabeth said shortly, glaring at Reyna. "I will pretend to date Percy. But no excessive PDA, and I will not be pushing any scheduled events to make time for him."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Annabeth. Now go, both of you. We can't have any paparazzi see you, so you're going home by car."

Annabeth was unpleasantly surprised when she and Percy got to the parking lot only to find that there was only one car for both of them. "It's bad enough that I have to pretend to date you, but now we have to share a car before our relationship has even started!"

"Ok, I'm not too thrilled about it either, but the sooner we get in, the sooner you don't have to see me," Percy said.

Annabeth was struck by the lack of anger in his voice and how much sense the suggestion made, but she said nothing and got in the car.

The two sat in silence for the majority of the ride. They passed some paparazzi, but because they didn't see who was inside the car, the two celebrities passed unnoticed. After some time in silence, Percy said, "So I guess the feud between you and Drew is real?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't call it a feud. I did nothing but be nice to her, but I guess she just wanted more fame for herself. I consider myself a good person, but I'm too competitive to let her get ahead without working hard like I did. Besides, you wouldn't want to be with her… She's mean and demanding."

They sat in silence until the car stopped. "Well I guess I'll see you later," Percy said, putting one leg out of the car. "And don't worry, Annabeth," Percy added, pausing. "I much prefer blondes." With that, Percy winked, got out of the car, and walked away. Annabeth, left with a blush on her cheeks, spent the rest of the car ride in silence. After deciding that that comment was probably an innocent one, she decided that even if she wasn't going to enjoy spending time with Percy, it would at least be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2: The Blueberry Pancake Club

**A/N** : Hi guys! Chapter 2 is here as promised! It's a little longer than the previous one. :) I was going to post earlier in the weekend, but we just started our vacation so it's been hectic because we're visiting our family and suffering from jet lag. Thank you to everyone who read Chapter 1! Don't forget to follow this story and also review! If you want anything to happen (or not happen) you have to review in order for me to think about it. Lots of love. xx

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The Blueberry Pancake Club**

Annabeth hit her alarm and rolled out of bed. She walked over to her kitchen and looked around. Normally, she ran whenever she felt like it, but she decided she should start trying to put some kind of order into her life, so that is how Annabeth ended up standing in her kitchen at 6:10 am in work-out clothes, wondering if getting up at such an hour was worth a paparazzi-free run before work. Her thoughts insisted it was, so Annabeth walked back to her room for her laptop, which she placed on her kitchen table, and got a bunch of fruits out of the fridge. Annabeth started looking through her playlist, but decided she should brush up on Percy's band's music. She knew she had some of _The Argo II_ 's older music on her laptop, but she bought the rest of it without hearing it and put their entire discography on shuffle.

The first song was one she remembered from when she really liked rock music, before she decided that too much rock might influence her music in a way she wasn't ready for. But as soon as the first chords of "Siren" struck, Annabeth was dancing around the room. Going over to the fruit and starting to chop it up, she immediately began singing the lyrics and head banging. She kept singing and putting strawberries and the like in her blender. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Annabeth dropped everything and walked over to the door, trying to remember if she ordered any packages recently and if mail even came before 7 am. Without checking for an axe murderer, Annabeth opened the door and deadpanned "What?"

"Now is that any way to speak to your boyfriend?" Percy teased. Annabeth realized that the bane of her existence had arrived and she moved to close the slam the door in his face. "No, wait!" Percy protested, shoving the door open.

"What do you want, Percy? It's bad enough that I have to date you, but now you come here during some of the little time I have to myself and destroy my peace? Don't you not even wake up until the afternoon? What do you want from me?"

Annabeth thought she caught a glimpse of hurt in his eyes, but the next second, Percy started speaking in the most 'I don't care' voice she'd ever heard. "Well, Chiron's making me get up early like a normal person, so I thought that we needed to talk before we went on a real date. Plus Reyna told me how you sometimes get up at 6, so I took my chances and here I am." He grinned as he said those last words.

"Just so you know in the future, getting up before 6 is not normal, so spare yourself the trouble. But how much caffeine have you had?" Annabeth asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"Well… I bought at least $20 worth of espressos at Starbucks, so I'm thinking I should invest in a coffee machine," he smiled, and Annabeth noticed that his hands were shaking.

"Well, are you hungry? I usually make a smoothie before to drink after my jog and make pancakes or something after I'm done, but since you're here and I've lost my peaceful morning, I might as well not jog and make pancakes for two. Sound good?

Percy, who had taken up a spot on the counter and knew he was welcomed by the offer of pancakes, smirked at Annabeth. "Is that my music I hear?" Percy asked, realizing that his own voice was singing in the background.

"Oh shut up, Percy. I just bought a bunch of your music so that I didn't seem like a complete ignoramus about my own boyfriend's music."

Percy walked over to Annabeth's computer and clicked around. "Well, you did just buy _The Last Olympian_ and _The Lost Hero_ , but it looks like you already owned _The Titan's Curse_." Percy looked at Annabeth knowingly. "Aw, fetus Annabeth liked us as fetuses! Let's see what else you've got here… Hm… yeah… pop ok… yeah… ew… oh they're good!... well, One Direction's to be expected… You listen to rap?... ugh more pop… Skillet!... no… ew… eh…" Percy continued, doing a running commentary on everything on Annabeth's playlist.

"Not all of your music is bad, Annabeth," Percy joked, turning up the volume on her computer. "Now make me some pancakes! Preferably blueberry!" he called as he positioned himself back on the counter.

Annabeth contemplated dying of embarrassment, but didn't want to give Percy the pleasure, so she pulled out all of the necessary ingredients and started mixing them together. Sometime after she started pouring the batter into the pan, she realized that Percy was singing along to the most recent song. His voice sounded even better than it did on the track, and he clearly didn't use auto tuned. Annabeth switched from humming along to the song to singing, doing her best to harmonize with Percy during the slower parts. Annabeth looked over at him and saw that he was very visibly impressed. She kept singing and finished making the last few pancakes.

"All right! Get up and set the table if you want any."

"Or what?"

"Or I will eat all of them, Percy Jackson. You do not want to test me."

"Well actually, I do. If you know what I mean."

"EW! That was terrible." Annabeth hit him, trying hard to suppress a laugh.

"I know, but it was worth a try."

"You never give up, do you?"

"Well do I ever look like a lady's turned me down," Percy smouldered.

"I don't know about turned down, but I think some lady's definitely slapped that face."

"Shut up, everyone loves me."

"Except for me, Jackson," Annabeth said sitting down.

"Which is why I'm not giving up, Chase," Percy said, following her lead.

"Percy, why did you agree to this?" Annabeth turned serious.

Percy sobered up as well. "Well, you obviously know that my reputation's turned to shit and is going down the drain. My band's worked harder than you'll ever know to get where it is, especially in a time when pop rules the mainstream, and I can't ruin my friends' success just because I like partying. I mean, they do too, but theirs is socially acceptable. It's like…" Percy paused searching for words. "Ladies love me-" he started.

"Seriously? How self-centered can you be?"

"Let me continue. Ladies love me and the idea that they might have a chance with me since I like girls, but if they see me with too many girls and I seem too 'easy'" Percy looked at the shock on Annabeth's face, "Yeah I know, more guys think of girls as easy than the other way around, but anyway, they're not going to feel special if I sleep with them but also everyone else. So Chiron is trying to make me seem more exclusive to boost my image, you need to get back in the public eye, yadda yadda. Plus, you're super hot, so who could say no to that?"

"OK, I understand what you're trying to say, vaguely, and from the perspective of someone who doesn't agree, but why don't you just get a real girl friend? Because let's face it- I'm not sleeping with you, and you obviously need that in your life."

Percy had a strange look in his eye. "I don't think it's fair for someone to fall for me and for me to not feel anyone. There's no one I connect with that way. But don't be too sure about that, Annabeth," he said a little too bravely with a wink that seemed a little too forced. Annabeth couldn't tell if she didn't know Percy well enough or if he was hiding something, but they'd known each other for only a few days, so she didn't know how much she should care or how much he was willing to share.

"Ok, let's eat before these pancakes cool down anymore," Annabeth quickly responded.

Percy gratefully sat down at the table and started heaping pancakes onto his plate, drizzled them with syrup, and started shoveling them into his mouth. Annabeth, who was eating copious amounts of food quickly as well but was at least cutting if neatly beforehand, looked at him in disgust. "Ew," she started, "You are literally such a pig. I can't believe you've gotten so many women in bed."

"Hey!" Percy protested with a mouth full of food. He finished chewing. "I'll have you know, this mouth is good at everything."

Annabeth contorted her face in disbelief. "I just made you amazing pancakes and this is how you thank me?"

Percy, realizing he had inadvertently started using innuendo, saw the window of opportunity open before him. "I can thank you so much better if you let me," he said, leaning across the table.

Taken aback, Annabeth leaned away from him. "Literally, shut up," she said flicking the pieces of pancake on her fork at him.

Percy and Annabeth polished off their pancakes and Annabeth grabbed her smoothie. She looked at the time on the clock and realized it wasn't even 8 o'clock, so she still had at least two hours to kill before she could go into the studio. "So…" Annabeth started. "I have at least two hours until I have to be at work. What do you want to do?" Percy was glancing interestedly at Annabeth's house. "Are you interested in seeing my house or is the caffeine you had making your head twitch back and forth?"

Percy looked down, abashed. "Maybe… But I do want to see your house too."

"Ok, the Annabeth Chase Home Tour is beginning; please step this way," Annabeth began. They walked into the living room, which had brown leather sofas with tartan blankets over the backs, bookshelves, and antique decorations sprinkled around. "The room we are entering is the living room, aka the 'you can use it to entertain professionals in the music industry but also to eat ice cream and jump on the sofas' room because what's the point of paying for designer furniture if it's not both comfy and pretty," Annabeth rambled. "There's another one downstairs, but unless you want to play pool or watch a movie on a bigger screen, this one is probably better. Anyway… Next room…"

Percy trailed behind Annabeth, silent for most of the tour, but occasionally making snarky comments about a decoration choice here or there. The thing was, though, that despite the fact that Annabeth made her house far more vintage than Percy would like or expect, she had an eye for detail and she made the house look better than any professional could. Finally, Annabeth stepped into the last room on the second floor.

"And finally," she began. "This is my room."

Percy looked around and smirked. "I knew I'd make it up to your room, Chase."

Without having any time to register what had happened, Percy found himself leaning against the door frame for support, realizing that Annabeth had pushed him very hard.

"What the heck, Percy! I thought we were going to be able to get along pretty well! We may not be dating, but we'll be spending a lot of time with each other, so I wanted to try to be friends with you. But you clearly don't want to. You know what—I can't take this anymore. You'd be much better off with Drew—she'd actually want to sleep with you. And I don't even care if your career flounders or if the public forgets about me. We all deserve what's coming to us, and this train wreck of a plan won't save anybody."

Annabeth fished her cell phone out of her pocket, but she felt a gentle but firm grip on her wrist. "Annabeth," Percy said softly, looking her in the eyes. "I am so sorry about that. I'm not used to not getting what I want, and I didn't think you actually meant not wanting me. I won't do anything like that again." He became embarrassed all of a sudden. "Please just give me another chance. My band—er—I need this."

Annabeth didn't know Percy well enough to know whether he would keep flirting with her—in all honesty, he probably would—but she did know that everyone deserves a second chance. She sighed and hoped she was making the right decision. "Oh all right, you have one more chance. But that's it. And you better make our first date absolutely spectacular." Percy nodded. "Now I have to get ready for work, so please leave my room," she said glaring at him. "The paparazzi are out, so we can drop you off at your studio if you want."

"Sounds good," Percy responded. "I'll wait by the front door." He ran out as fast as he could and Annabeth closed the door firmly.

As Annabeth quickly showered, she contemplated Percy. He was a straight up asshole with no discernable depth of character, save for the fact that but he did put the needs of his friends and his band ahead of what he wanted, which made her wonder what other surprises he had up his sleeve besides a bag of innuendos. Annabeth got dressed in a loose, flowery dress, brushed her teeth, and decided that whatever it was she'd find out soon enough. She met Percy at the door where he was drumming against the door itself very lightly. "Come on," said Annabeth. Percy nodded and followed after her.


	3. Chapter 3: Dating for Dummies

**A/N** : Sorry for the slightly late update! I went on a road trip with my family but it ended early because of weather and stuff. Anyhow, thank you for the reviews and follows. Remember to keep reviewing and following if you like it (or even if you don't). Also, Chapter 1 was one thousand something words, Chapter 2 was two thousand something, and Chapter 3 is three thousand something. Ayyy look at that coincidence. ;) Anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Dating for Dummies**

A week had passed since the interesting morning at Annabeth's house without much contact with Percy. They had talked through Reyna and Chiron, who were trying to set up a perfect first date for what they knew would be America's power couple, but Annabeth wasn't too thrilled. If Percy had any good ideas, he kept them to himself, but the worst part was when the date would happen, not what or where.

Reyna had the brilliant idea for them to go out to dinner Saturday, the 7th… On Piper's birthday. Reyna clearly didn't realize that her friends were more important to her than a publicity stunt—and a first date, at that!—but Reyna had been having them walk in the same area at the same time of day multiple times in the past week to make it seem like they may have been on dates before what would be their first public outing. Honestly, all Annabeth wanted to do was to spend Piper's 20th birthday baking cookies and watching movies with their closest friends, but it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Annabeth was pulled from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone and saw that it was Percy. 'Speak of the devil' she thought to herself as she took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Can you please tell Reyna that I am not having our first date next week?"

"What—oh—why? Never mind. That's actually what I'm calling about. How fast can you get ready?"

"I mean… It depends on for what… why?

"You'll see. Just dress nicely, but not in something that you'd get upset about getting dirty."

"That's a very narrow category, but I'll see what I can do. Give me an hour."

"All right, I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye," Annabeth echoed, hanging up.

Annabeth made her way into her room and opened her closet. She pushed aside all of her dresses looking for something nice to wear. She made it to the back of her closet and pulled a few dresses out. Most of them were casual dresses that she wore four years ago, but among them was a black dress with loose sleeves that she'd worn to dinner a few times. Though first dates were normally for unique outfits, Percy did say something she didn't mind getting dirty, and the little black dress had served Annabeth well. She put back the rest of the dresses and went to go take a shower.

Annabeth got out of the shower and turned some music on. She jumped around as she put her dress on and started her makeup. She didn't like makeup, but made an effort to simulate a first date by putting on some mascara, eyeliner, and a pretty red shade of lipstick. Annabeth decided to leave her hair as it was, however, because her ringlets could not be tamed in the twenty minutes she had left. Before she put her heels on, she walked around the house and made sure all of the doors were closed. The house was big and empty with just her in it, but she couldn't get her father and the rest of her family to move to LA and besides, she made sure she had her friends over all the time to keep her company.

Annabeth spent approximately ten minutes making sure everything was locked, picked out shoes and accessories, put it all on, and spun in front of the mirror. As she glanced at herself, there was a newfound confidence to how she held herself and a fire in her eyes. Maybe it was the resolution to make the best out of this new arrangement with Percy, or maybe it was because of the new decisions she'd made in her life that the public didn't know about yet, but Annabeth didn't care about what would be printed in the tabloids the next day because she knew she was strong enough to survive it, and she knew what the truth was.

The doorbell rang, so Annabeth smoothed her dress one last time, grabbed her purse and a light jacket, and made her way to the door. Outside, Percy leaned on the door frame. 'Really?' Annabeth thought to herself. 'Where did they find this guy? Everything he does is taken from a movie.'

Annabeth's notion was only enforced when she looked at what he was wearing, because he wore the default celebrity outfit of black jeans, a tee shirt, and a black leather jacket. She couldn't complain though, because he looked good and the blue of his shirt brought out the startling blue of his eyes. Annabeth gathered her thoughts enough to ask "Are you filming a movie or taking me to dinner? Come on James Dean."

"Just trying to make a good first impression." Percy said as he stuck his arm out.

"Well A, we've already met, and B, that's so cliché. You don't do this often, do you?" Annabeth asked as she hooked her arm around his.

"Honey, I don't need to do this."

"Don't call me honey."

"Whatever you say, honey," he said as he opened the door for her.

Percy got in next to her and closed the door, after which Annabeth responded, "I am not your honey. And if you call me that one more time, I swear to the Gods that I will not hesitate to unlock this door while on the highway and roll out."

"Whatever you say." Percy gave the driver as signal and they started moving.

They drove for a while in silence until Annabeth asked what was on her mind. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Jackson, it's not a surprise when you could be a murderer or a rapist."

"Annabeth, do you trust Reyna?" The blonde nodded. "Then trust that she didn't set you up with a felon."

"It's not like you wouldn't be able to hide it from her."

"Dude, seriously, we're almost there. I promise you won't die at my hands."

"How very comforting."

Annabeth noticed that the car was winding through the mountains, which made her swallow and clench her fists. She didn't really think that Percy was a felon, but the overactive part of her imagination that created chart topping songs was telling her it was a possibility, so she remained prepared to defend herself. Finally, the car rolled to a stop. Percy jumped out as though electrocuted and ran to open the door on Annabeth's side.

Annabeth, who looked as though she was going to make a biting comment at Percy's attempted chivalry, stopped in her tracks with her mouth parted slightly in amazement. "Woah," she trailed off, leaving Percy smirking.

"LA looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

"It really does," Annabeth responded. When she had looked her fill, she turned around with sparkling eyes and hooked her arm with Percy's. "Please tell me the rest of the date is as nice as this view."

"You'll have to rate it at the end," Percy told her, leading her to the building on the other side of the car.

They stepped into the warm golden light of the restaurant and were instantly hit by soft laughs and wonderful smells. Percy caught the eye of the host, who grabbed two menus and led them further into the merriment. The walls were white and the doorways were arched, there were simple tiles on the ground, and the decorations were mostly shells and black and white photographs, leading Annabeth to believe it was a Mediterranean restaurant of some sort. As the host seated them, Annabeth heard Percy say "Thank you, Alex."

"Do you come here often?"

"I don't really go to restaurants very much, but as far as nice places to eat, this is the one I know best," Percy responded. "I'm sorry. I really hope you like Greek food. I think the food here is really good, and I know that none of the staff or any of the regular patrons will call the paparazzi on us."

"I love Greek food, actually! My mom is Greek, as well. I mean—that's not why I like it—she never really cooked when I was with her, but that's just a fact."

"Oh, that's really cool! My dad is Greek, too. That's actually how I know about this place. He helped his friend start this restaurant, and his company actually supplies a large amount of the sea food here. That's how I know that they won't snitch on us. They all know me personally, so they value my privacy."

Annabeth felt touched that Percy decided to bring her to a restaurant that meant so much to him, but dismissed the thought, telling herself it was to avoid the paparazzi that would inevitably find them. However, she soon let those thoughts go and resolved to enjoy the beautiful music and décor, as well as imagine how the delicious smells would taste when they arrived at the table.

They made small talk and ordered food when the waiter came back. Without consulting each other, they both ordered linguine with mussels, a fact that they laughed over afterwards. "You're trying to copy me, Jackson," Annabeth giggled.

"No, Chase, this is my favorite dish here."

"Well I love pasta, and I ordered first, so you copied me." Neither could stop laughing.

Things calmed down when the two got their food.

"So… About your dad…" Annabeth started. "If your dad is Greek, then why is your last name Jackson?"

Percy was clearly taken off guard by the question. "Oh," he started. "Jackson is my mom's maiden name. My parents loved each other very much, but my father left shortly after I was born because he had to choose between us and his job. My mom raised me, so I have her last name." Percy clenched his fist. "When I started in middle school, my parents decided I should get to know my dad, so I flew over to the west coast on long weekends and for part of summer break. I'm not sure I'm necessarily thrilled by it, but his family really is wonderful, so I can't complain."

"Where is home?" Annabeth asked, leaning in. Percy looked vulnerable, but not in an unwilling way, so Annabeth pressed on.

"New York. I grew up in the city. My mom is the best person ever. She worked in a candy shop to provide for me, and my dad sent some money to help out, but my step-father—" Percy became aware of what he was saying and paused, "Was a complete asshole," Percy continued. Annabeth witnessed his eyes become steely and closed. He wasn't going to talk anymore about this, and she was not going to push him.

"I'm sorry about that. Your mom sounds awesome," Annabeth said. Percy looked unconvinced by her words, so Annabeth knew she had to open up. "It's kind of the opposite for me. My parents had a very short relationship, and my mom decided that she would rather be a successful business mogul than a mother, so she left me with my dad. She only visited every year around my birthday if she had time, and that's it. My dad's great, but he never really wanted me. Then he married another woman. I have two half-brothers who I love more than anything and my step-mom is cool, but she never understood my love of music." Annabeth heard her voice crack and leaned away from Percy. "Sorry—you never said you wanted to hear about my family life. I just stole your sad family dynamic thunder," she cracked a small smile.

Percy reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. "Honestly, Annabeth, I'm glad you did tell me something. I felt super weird letting you in like that—I don't know what came over me. I don't think anyone outside my best friends knows all of this." Annabeth made eye contact with Percy and they both suddenly looked down at their half-eaten food and decided it was a perfect remedy for the awkwardness.

The remaining half-main course and a desert course later, normal conversation was fully restored at the celebrities' table. Percy paid the bill and hugged his cousin. "Ready Annabeth?" he asked, looking down at her from his standing position. As she nodded, he grabbed her hand and helped her up. "Now comes the dirtiness—literally" he hastily amended after a glare from his date. "You're fine with getting dirt on that dress, right?" Annabeth nodded.

Percy led her out through the back of the restaurant, through a clearing and up some rocks. Annabeth cursed his name under her breath. "Percy Jackson, you said a dress I didn't mind getting dirty. You didn't say anything about footwear. Be glad I have okay balance in wedges."

Percy shrugged. "Slipped my mind, I guess," he said nonchalantly, but he grabbed her hand and moved more slowly anyway. Finally, they arrived at a large flat rock. "Tada," Percy said sheepishly, glancing at Annabeth. "It's kind of the same view but of some more of LA. But this patch of sky is so much less polluted than the rest of the city, so I love coming here…" he trailed off, having dropped Annabeth's hand from his own to scratch the back of his neck with it.

"No, it's absolutely beautiful," Annabeth silenced his doubts with her wide-eyed gaze. She didn't know whether to look at the city lights or the celestial ones, each was just as captivating as the other. When she had looked her fill at the city lights, she plopped down on the ground.

"What are you doing, Annabeth?" Percy asked, clearly very confused.

"Honestly, Percy, how thick are you? You asked me to wear something I could get dirty and you brought me out here. I don't know if this is actually what you meant, but stargazing is the obvious option here."

"Oh right," Percy said, looking away. "That is actually what I had planned." He dropped down next to her.

Percy and Annabeth gazed at the stars, pointing out the different constellations and laughing about their mythology. "And that one right there is Perseus. It's named after me, so I personally think it's rather dashing."

Annabeth shoved him. "You self-centered idiot. You'll never be as good as the Perseus in the myth."

Percy pouted at her. "I'll have you know that I was actually named after him. My name is Perseus because I'm part Greek and my parents wanted me to be able to slay all the monsters that came my way."

Annabeth laughed. "I hope that's metaphorical. But Perseus is legit awesome. And Medusa creeps me out."

"Same," Percy chuckled.

They sighed and lay there for another moment. Suddenly, they heard someone call Percy's name. They ventured back over the cliff and saw Alex waiting for them at the beginning of the clearing while an argument came from the door. "Some pap's trying to get by to take pictures of you guys. Nick is holding him back, but you guys should get going."

Alex rushed them in through the back door of the kitchen and into the restaurant. They quickly left before the man with the camera could hear them, but they heard him complaining to Nick "Oh, come on, man! I paid for food here! Just let me get some pics of the view!" very obnoxiously.

Next thing Annabeth knew, they were back in the car. Percy hugged his cousin. "Thanks man," he told Alex.

"Any time, dude."

"Nice meeting you, Alex," Annabeth said, shaking hands with him awkwardly from the other side of the car.

"Likewise, Annabeth. I hope to see more of you," Alex smiled at her. The door closed before Alex could see her full reaction, and Annabeth let her blush develop across her entire face as Alex's meaning washed over her.

"Thanks for moving the date up," Annabeth told Percy.

"Any time. I remember how you grumbled at Reyna's the other day. Something about your friend's birthday. My friends would never let me hear the end of it if I missed one of their birthdays for a chick." Annabeth chuckled as she thought of how that was not something that Percy ever need be concerned about.

The rest of the car ride passed in silence. Annabeth thought about how nice it was to spend time with Percy when he wasn't trying to make a move on her, and decided that she really liked it. Maybe they could be friends after all if he wasn't so obnoxious. Finally, they pulled into her driveway.

"Rate my date?" Percy asked, wiggling his eyebrows and going around to open the door for her.

"Nine," Annabeth deadpanned as she took his hand and stepped out.

Percy slammed the door behind her. "What?" he asked in disbelief as he walked her to the door. "That was perfect! Is it because I didn't kiss you? Damn it! I knew I should've tried to kiss you!" he ran on. He then stepped forward as though to kiss her.

"No!" Annabeth protested, stepping into the doorway of her house, having just unlocked when Percy decided that a kiss was necessary. "There's always room for improvement. If I gave you a 10, I would have just inflated your enormous ego even more. I had a lot of fun, Percy, but really? A kiss? That's not necessary. Can't wait to see what you come up with next time." She winked at him and closed the door.

Despite this confusing and uncharacteristic Annabeth response, Percy felt encouraged by it and swaggered back to the car. He drove away thinking about getting that 10. Annabeth, however, was in her room, on her bed, and confused about her own behavior than anything else. A wink? That was Percy turf and nothing else. Annabeth was not coy; she was not flirty; she was not anything like that. She was upfront and honest and said exactly what she thought. It made her songs so good and her relationships so short. She didn't want to flirt with Percy, so why did she give him a wink? She pondered over this while getting ready for bed and started texting Piper about her date as she fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N** : I realize that some people don't share such personal info on first dates, but I tend to overshare, so this is something I would do. XD Also, I felt it could be transitioned into easily and that it lends to the idea that Percy and Annabeth can build something beyond Percy's hookups or a tense fake relationship (plus there's more to the back story that will be revealed later muahahaha :D)


	4. Chapter 4: Comfort and Consultation

**Chapter 4: Comfort and Consultation**

Annabeth woke up to a weight on her side. "Mmmmffff," Annabeth grumbled.

"No," the weight responded. "Your lazy ass needs to wake up, make me breakfast, and dish about this date."

Annabeth let one eye open enough to see who it was and read that the display on her alarm clock read a time before 9 am, then she promptly closed it. "Pipessss, I just want to sleeeeep," Annabeth whined.

Piper readjusted herself, causing Annabeth to yelp. "No can do, sister. You see, I came all the way over here without eating, so I'm going to need nourishment or my gorgeous model body is going to shrivel up and die. Then, my agent is going to come after you for killing the most beautiful model in the world and you're going to be in trouble."

"Ugh fine," Annabeth groaned. She started getting up out of bed, then, when she got to the proper angle, she pushed Piper onto the floor. Piper yelped in protest, but was then quiet. Annabeth put her head back on her pillow and, sighing, tried to catch some more sleep.

Suddenly, Annabeth felt a hand on her ankle and a rush of air before feeling her entire right side meet the wooden floor. She shrieked. "Piper!"

Piper, who took this time to sit on Annabeth, preventing her from getting up, looked down at her smugly. "Don't try to fight me, Chase. You can't win," Piper said, mockingly. "So, breakfast?" she added excitedly.

"Fine, but only because I'm too awake now" Annabeth groaned. Piper stood up and helped Annabeth up. With one last scathing glance at Piper, Annabeth walked over to the kitchen. "What do you want, Piper?"

"Anything works, dude," Piper shrugged.

Annabeth reached for the pancake mix in the cupboard and started butting all of the ingredients together. After the basics were put together in the bowl, she went to the fridge and pulled out the blueberries. Piper, who was busy playing with a yo-yo Annabeth had in her bowl of knick-knacks, looked up. "I prefer chocolate, Annabeth."

"Oh, sorry," Annabeth blushed, going to return the blueberries to the fridge and pull the chocolate chips from the cupboard.

"Wait a minute…" Piper trailed off. "You like plain pancakes, and I like chocolate chip pancakes. And none of our friends were here this week because I snapchat them all frequently. So who likes blueberry?" Piper asked. At this point, the deductive expression on Piper's face was swiftly growing into a shit-eating grin. "Does Percy like blueberries?" Piper asked, winking.

"Yes…" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes and feeling her face heat up.

"Oh my god! You made him breakfast? He slept over?" Piper practically shrieked.

Annabeth flung the chocolate chips she was holding at Piper's face making an inhuman groan. "Piper! That is disgusting!" Piper still kept smiling. "Ok fine—" Annabeth sighed. "Percy came over in the morning and threw off my routine and made me make him breakfast all while he made this obnoxious pervy remarks."

Piper looked at her in disbelief. "That's not what I was hoping or expecting to hear at all, but since you are the epitome of a pure ray of sunshine, I believe you. Now…" Piper trailed off. "About your date last night…" She had the audacity to smirk.

"Um… sorry dude. If you want to eat pancakes, you can't ask me now. Ask me over breakfast."

Piper pouted. "You're no fun."

Finally, Annabeth finished the pancakes and slid the last one onto a plate. Ignoring the fact that Piper had already eaten at least three large pancakes before she had finished making them, Annabeth placed the pancakes on the kitchen table and set the table. Piper handed Annabeth a coffee she made her and the two friends dug in.

"So," Piper broke the tranquility of the chewing-filled room, speaking with her mouth practically overflowing with pancake, "Tell me about the date."

Annabeth couldn't help but think about how she would love to be somewhere other than this kitchen as she cursed Piper's ability to force information out of her. She knew that she would never achieve piece until she gave Piper answers.

Annabeth chewed and chewed until there was nothing left to chew in her mouth before stealing herself to speak. "It was nice," she said plainly.

"It was—nice?" Piper blubbered. "You went on a date with the sex god, Percy fucking Jackson and it was 'nice'? I'm leaving. Ladies and gentlemen, my best friend is an idiot." Piper got up to leave, taking Annabeth's plate still stacked high with pancakes.

Annabeth was not that concerned about Piper's threats to leave but was very concerned by the prospect of losing her pancakes. "Piper," she called. "Sit down and let me finish."

Piper grinned. "Well if you insist," she said happily, sitting back down and placing the pancakes back within Annabeth's reach.

Annabeth recounted the entire night, from Percy's consideration for the fact that she had plans the next week (Piper rolled her eyes. "Honey, if I had a date with Percy Jackson, I'd miss your birthday!"), to the location of and food at the restaurant, to the easy conversation between the two of them. By the end of the car ride, Piper had given them the title 'Percabeth' and was making irritating _aw_ sounds after every one of Percy's actions.

"If you like him so much, Piper, why don't you date him?" Annabeth asked, finally fed up.

"Annabeth, as much as I would _looooveeee_ to," Piper drew out, "You really do need to get back into the dating game and I think Percy is perfect for that. He can shake things up for you and he's different from any other guy you've ever dated. Sure he's a bad boy like Luke, but he's so funny.

"Piper," Annabeth groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's fake? It's just for publicity."

"It doesn't have to be," Piper replied, mouth stuffed with food as usual. "I think this could be good for both of you."

Piper may be the expert on all things love, but Annabeth knew what she felt better than Piper did, and she felt nothing towards Percy and also that she would just get her heart broken if she tried to have a real relationship with him.

"No," Annabeth said firmly. "I would never date him. He's so immature. We decided we'd be friends, and even that may not happen."

"Ugh fine," Piper replied. "Destroy my Percabeth dreams. Kill the two children I've already named for you guys inside my head. See if I care." Annabeth felt her eyes roll into the back of her head. "But you at least had sex with him last night, right?" Piper asked hopefully.

"What do you think?" Annabeth replied, disgusted. "Of course not."

"You disappoint me."

Percy walked into the garage of his house to discover his bandmates already set up for practice, talking loudly and eating junk food even more loudly. As soon as the door closed behind him, the room fell silent as his friends turned to look at him, until Leo stumbled over to him and gripped him in the deathly grip that was the signature Valdez hug. "Congrats man!" Leo shouted into his ear. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Percy extricated himself from Leo's grasp before his confused expression finally set in and he asked, looking around at all of his band mates, "About what?"

"Dude! You're dating Annabeth Chase! THE Annabeth Chase. The one you had a crush on back in high school? How could you not tell us sooner?!" Leo was practically jumping up to the ceiling.

"OK, first of all—" Percy retorted, "I did not have a crush on her. I had a collage of all the cute girls in Hollywood—"

"Which she was on ten times more than the rest," Nico muttered under his breath.

"And SECOND of all," Percy continued, barely paying any attention to Nico, "I am not _dating_ her; I merely went on _one_ date with her."

"Did you… you know…?" Leo wiggled his eyebrows at Percy.

"What do you think?" Percy smirked. He tried to exude the confidence he usually had with girls, but he thought about Annabeth's wrath. She would so kill him if she knew what he was implying. _Ok, Percy, leave it at that_ , he thought to himself. _They'll believe you and if you don't specifically say anything, Annabeth might not rip your head off_. "Of course I did. I'm Percy Jackson," he blurted out. He knew Annabeth would kill him. She would know he said something just by looking at him, and she would destroy him. He avoided the four pairs of eyes in the room.

"He's lying," Frank replied from the corner where he was sitting. "Percy, you're usually so much more boastful, it's obvious you didn't have sex with Annabeth. Tell us what's going on."

Percy mentally cursed Frank for being so damn observant. Frank and Nico shared a look and Percy knew that Nico had seen it too. He gave up. "Ugh fine, you guys got me. We didn't do anything—we just went to dinner."

Percy heard Jason snort. As Percy looked over, Jason looked up from the magazine he was skimming. "That's a first, dude. It always leads into something else with you."

"That's all it is," Percy assured Jason, annoyed that his friends didn't seem to believe he was capable of interaction with girls without ulterior motives.

"Is this about what Chiron said a few months ago?" Jason asked, narrowing his eyes.

 _Damn_ , Percy thought, _Jason is good_. "Which thing?" Percy asked innocently.

"Cut the crap, Percy. When Chiron said you needed to stop sleeping around and get a serious girlfriend in order to save this band, you got seriously concerned. We haven't seen you with any other girls, which is fine but out of character."

"Calm down, Jason. I decided to actually try dating someone. See what I'm missing, ya know? The opportunity came along and Annabeth is hot, so I thought 'Why not?'"

"Percy, tell us if you're doing anything like that. You don't need to, really. We are a band, but we're friends foremost. We can get through anything together, so don't change who you are."

"Jason, I am not doing this to save our band," Percy lied through his teeth, this time with ease. "Now let's practice."

* * *

 **A/N:** Some filler, but I honestly love friend dynamics so much (maybe even more than the Percabeth dynamic). I also liked trying to write the band because they're all different in the books but they're friends and I wanted to get that, especially because it's a challenge for me since I don't have many friends that are boys. There isn't really any comfort in the chapter, but I try to be clever and the title is a Joni Mitchell lyric. Thanks for the reviews and favorites, and remember to give this story love if you like it!


	5. Chapter 5: Life of the Party

**A/N:** *surrounded by sharp weapons and angry readers* Okokokok, I know it's been almost three weeks, but I had a lot going on-let me explain! Until a week ago I was still on vacation and I had posted all of my already written chapters, and I barely had time to work on this one. I didn't even know the direction I wanted to go, except for the girls getting ready, some drunk Piper, and setting it up for the next chapter. Then I finally got home and I started packing for university. I also had an awesome concert to go to on Saturday (guess where I was; this incredibly amazing chapter title is a hint ;) ), but that's not helping my case. Anyway, I'm working on the next chapter, but I'm leaving for college next Sunday so idk exactly when I'll post.

Another thing: someone asked if Percy and Annabeth knew each other in high school. The answer is no. Annabeth was already famous and they did not go to the same school. She was Percy's celebrity crush (he had pictures of her in his locker, etc.). I tried to clarify more in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it! Remember to favorite and follow and review!

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Life of the Party**

Annabeth burst into Piper's house with arms full of junk food and baking ingredients. "Piper," she called through the house. "I have arrived."

Annabeth was met with silence, so she made her way to the kitchen and dropped her bounty onto the counter with a thud. As she began organizing all of the food she bought, she felt someone come up next to her and start helping her out. She looked up and saw her and Piper's good friend, Hazel Levesque. Hazel was one of the newest big talent in the movie industry. She could make a log feel emotional. Hazel stood there looking as she usually did, with her dark skin, beautiful golden eyes, and curly, caramel-streaked hair. Hazel always looked and carried herself in a way that politely screamed 'Old Hollywood', but when Annabeth looked down to take in her outfit, Annabeth saw that Hazel was not wearing sweats like she was, but a flowy, semi-formal purple dress.

"So Hazel…" Annabeth began. "How's it going? Did you go somewhere nice today?"

"No," Hazel laughed. "Piper said to dress nicely because she wanted to go out."

"Oh…" the panic began to mount in Annabeth. "Sorry Hazel… I—uh—gotta go do something…"

Annabeth turned around in a hurry, knocking over half of her purchased food, but Piper, dressed in a lacy pale pink dress, blocked her exit out of the kitchen. "There you are, Annabeth," Piper said, grinning evilly. "Just in time to help me with makeup."

"About that, Piper…" Annabeth trailed off uncomfortably. "I remembered I have urgent business… Reyna called… I'd love to celebrate 21 with you another time…"

"Nice try, dear, but I invited Reyna and she's meeting us there. Now come on," Piper finished, jerking Annabeth's arm violently and leading her up the staircase as an amused Hazel followed. When they got upstairs, Piper locked her door and sat Annabeth on her stool. "Makeup or hair first?" she asked brightly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't have anything to wear so I couldn't possibly go out with you. You brought me here under false pretenses, remember?"

"Ah yes, that," Piper giggled. "Don't worry. I have something—loads of somethings, actually. Wait a moment."

Piper reappeared with a bundle of clothing. She spread it all out on her bed and some on her floor. Holding up different dresses to Annabeth's body, she quickly moved everything around, muttering to herself. Finally, she picked something up and her eyes lit up. "This is it! Put it on!" Piper pleaded Annabeth.

Annabeth grumbled her disbelief at Piper's disrespect for her feelings but walked into the bathroom anyway. She put on the two bundles of lace in her hands. "Oh _hell no_ ," Annabeth muttered to herself. Putting her arms around her midriff, she reentered the bedroom and glared at her friends, who stopped their conversation and began laughing at her expression.

"Looking good, Annie!" Piper exclaimed while Hazel stared open-mouthed at Annabeth's outfit.

"Shut up, Piper! I am not wearing this crop top! Or this skirt! It's tight and short!"

"Honestly, Annabeth, you love lacy dresses, and this is practically a dress. Less than an inch of your midriff is showing and that skirt is past your finger tips and no tighter than other things I've seen you wear and _like_." Piper grinned evilly. "Plus, it's my birthday, so I will accept no other present than you wearing this to my party."

"Speaking of party, why are Hazel and I going? You're going to want to do shots probably and neither of us is 21."

"Nice try, sweetie, but you're going and wearing the dress."

"Drat."

"I can't believe you substituted 'drat' for 'damn'."

"Shut up."

Piper chucked teal heels at Annabeth, which after a few minutes of protesting, she reluctantly put on. Piper then did everyone's makeup as Annabeth complained about how the shoes were too high. Finally, Annabeth felt something hit her side as Piper chucked a matching clutch to appease her and exited the room. Hazel and Annabeth followed, the former giggling and the latter sulking.

When the girls finally got downstairs, Piper opened the door and gestured to a limo waiting for them. "Tonight we ride in style," she announced.

Annabeth went through the door first and saw a window of opportunity. "Peace out suckers!" she called, taking off running down the driveway, for Piper and Hazel would be too surprised to follow and the driveway was big enough that the driver couldn't block her. Reveling in her newfound freedom, Annabeth almost didn't notice when she tripped and let out a yelp. She came back to her senses with skinned palms, a throbbing ankle, and her friends standing over her trying and failing to stifle their laughter.

Annabeth sat up and blinked. "I think I hurt my ankle. I can't go out tonight."

Piper, who had been losing in her attempts to not laugh let it all out. "Puh-lease, Annabeth. I may have barely seen it, but I saw how you fell, and the probability that you even sprained your ankle is miniscule. It's probably just from the sudden movement. It's happened to me before."

After cleaning Annabeth's palms and icing her ankle, Piper and Hazel ushered her into the car. The car ride was silent with the exception of some pop music playing in the background. "This is abuse," muttered Annabeth. "My ankle is broken and I'm being forced to go to a stupid party."

Hazel felt Annabeth's ankle and rotated it. Annabeth merely whined a little. "Hon… It's not broken. You would feel way more pain if it was."

Annabeth eventually stopped complaining aloud and started making a mental list of all of the ways in which she would pay her friends back for this night.

Finally, the girls arrived at their destination, some hip club that Piper booked for the night. Music blasted from inside and the walkway in front of it overflowed with crazy fans of Piper and people who enjoyed seeking out famous people, as well as slews of paparazzi.

"Piper, I can't leave this car," Annabeth said panicking.

"Relax, dude," Piper sighed. "I thought this might be a problem—wait just one second."

As Piper said those words, ten security guards emerged from the building and five stood on each side of the car door, creating a path between their door and the club's entrance. The three girls briskly walked down the path and they almost got to the door before the paparazzi realized it was them. The flashing of the lights increased and they were bombarded with questions.

"Hazel, any projects in the works?"

"How does it feel to be twenty-one?"

"Tell us about you and Percy Jackson!"

All of the girls ignored their respective questions. The security guard let them in quickly, and Annabeth sighed. "So it begins," she groaned, in reference to the questions about her and Percy.

The party had just started, Annabeth and Hazel sat down and had drinks (non-alcoholic for Annabeth, obviously, since she was under 21) while Piper made sure everything was ready with the DJ and the bartenders. Hazel and Annabeth chatted at their table and bobbed their heads to the music until Piper rejoined them. "The room's full enough now!" she shouted over the music. "Let's dance!"

Annabeth started dancing very badly and very self-consciously, but as she the songs went on and more of her friends arrived and danced in a circle, she began dancing and relaxing and—dare she say it?—having fun. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist. Annabeth immediately stiffened and turned her head slightly to glare at the offender. A familiar smile greeted her and she felt the overwhelming relief that a stranger wasn't touching her before remembering that Percy Jackson was just as bad as some pervert.

When Annabeth turned to face him, Percy put his hands on her waist. "Percy Jackson! Get your filthy hands off of me!" she said, feeling very irritated and making very large hand motions.

"Annabeth," Percy whispered calmly. "I don't know how many of your friends know this is fake, but we're in public and someone has probably already taken ten phone pics of us, so you have to act like this you're at least somewhat into me."

Annabeth gulped and opened her mouth to retort, when she felt Percy's lips meet hers. She stayed still but closed her eyes and thought about the feeling. The kiss wasn't unpleasant—Percy's lips were soft, he smelled nice, and the kiss made Annabeth feel kind of warm in a _hey I could do this more often_ type of way, but she figured that was because she hadn't kissed anyone in about two years. Percy kissed her for a few seconds before stepping back and smiling cheekily. Annabeth giggled in return. She wanted to hit him really badly for springing their first kiss on her, but his smile was contagious, and anyway, everyone undoubtedly assumed this was standard for them by that point.

"Keep your hands off me, Jackson, and you may make it through the party," Annabeth whispered, smiling.

"I don't know if I can. You look hot as fuck," Percy replied, nibbling on her ear and grinning.

Annabeth turned around, not giving him the satisfaction of a response. Her friends had mostly stopped dancing in order to stare at the new couple. Annabeth turned red and realized she wouldn't be able to skulk away. "Guys, this is Percy, my boyfriend," she choked out. "Percy," she continued, "This is Piper, Hazel, Rachel, Silena, Calypso, and Thalia."

Percy grinned at all the ladies and gave a quick hug to Thalia, who Annabeth assumed he already knew. "Hey ladies. Annabeth, I guess beautiful women flock together." Half the group blushed and rolled their eyes good-naturedly while Piper and Thalia cackled and Annabeth, absolutely mortified, dug her stiletto into Percy's foot.

"Don't over-do it, buddy," she whispered.

Knowing she had to spend time with Percy now, Annabeth grabbed the excuse and headed to one of the tables outside the dancefloor. She looked up and saw that to avoid being alone together, it was between a booth of slightly older people sitting with Piper's dad, Tristan MacLean, and four boys looking at them that were probably Percy's band mates from the wave he gave them. Annabeth said a quick hello to Mr. MacLean and let Percy lead her to the rest of The Argo II.

The boys all stared at them with various states of shit-eating grin on their faces. As Annabeth slid in next to Percy, one of the boys, who had curly hair and an impish expression, cried out, "Oh my God! You're Annabeth Chase! I'm Leo Valdez, your biggest fan—right after Percy, that is," he smiled and raised his eyebrows at Percy.

"Nice to meet you too, Leo! Biggest fan, ey?" she asked Percy.

Percy pretended not to hear her. "ANYWAY," he said loudly. "Guys, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Leo, Jason, Frank, and Nico."

Annabeth looked around and surveyed all of the boys. It seemed that Leo was very hyper and funny because he'd tried at least five different jokes on her since she sat down a minute ago, but at least he wasn't pretending to be cool, and hey, it worked for him. Frank seemed very serious and nervous from what Annabeth could tell, but that nervousness coupled with his big build just made him more endearing. Jason was very clean cut and affable, social, but not too much—Annabeth didn't know how much of this image was him and how much was for publicity, so she decided to be wary around him. And finally, Annabeth almost missed the last member in her survey of the band. Nico sat in the corner and seemed to be able to pull the shadows over him to envelop him. He was quiet and seemed nice enough, but Annabeth didn't want to provoke him. When they made eye contact, she couldn't tell if his smile was kindly or mocking her. Overall, she thought him more emo than anything else.

"So…" Leo wiggled his eyebrows. "How'd you two meet?"

As Annabeth opened her mouth to formulate an answer, Percy started speaking. _Thank God_ , Annabeth thought. _I don't have to lie_.

"Well…" Percy started, smirking. "Chiron told me that her manager reached out because Annabeth really wanted to meet me. We met, she was all over me, and the rest is history."

Annabeth gaped. She could not believe that Percy would be this ridiculous to her in public, even among his friends. Percy's friends all laughed, which spurred Annabeth into motion, no matter how futile. "In your dreams, Jackson." She addressed the other boys. "Reyna called me really early in the morning and made me come over. This idiot would not stop coming on to me and here we are."

"Liar!" Percy exclaimed. Annabeth held her breath and waited for the other boys to respond. Though she didn't know them personally, she didn't know what she would do if anyone actually thought that she was fawning over Percy.

"Nice try, Percy," Jason said, smirking. Annabeth decided that she liked him and that his affableness was probably genuine. "We all know you had a huge crush on Annabeth back in high school."

"Oh really?" Annabeth asked, grinning at Percy. "Do tell…"

Nico finally chimed in, grinning evilly. "He had posters of you in his lock—" Percy tackled Nico and put a hand over his mouth.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Percy said. Annabeth could have been mistaken, but she was almost certain there was a blush rising on Percy's cheeks.

In that moment, Piper saved Percy's ass. The slightly tipsy girl stumbled over and led the rest of Annabeth's friends, minus Silena and Calypso but with Reyna instead, to the table. The boys all got up and rearranged themselves to let the girls sit in between them, while Piper and Thalia immediately sauntered off to go harass someone.

Annabeth felt she really should have told the rest of the girls that she and Percy were in a fake relationship, as she knew her acting had to be really convincing in front of them. Luckily, all of the boys were nice people and the girls got along with them so the conversation flowed easily. Annabeth even saw Frank and Hazel giving each other shy smiles—bless their cute souls.

Finally Thalia sauntered back with a stumbling Piper and Silena and Calypso following her. "All right, everybody!" Piper cried out. "Time for cake and birthday shots!"

Everyone whooped and Annabeth rolled her eyes at her friends' antics. Percy helped her up and they walked over, his hand on her waist. Annabeth frowned at him, but he just grinned in response. They all sang 'Happy Birthday', after which Piper cut and handed out the cake, trying to move on to the next phase. Finally, when everyone had eaten some of the delicious cake—partly due to the threats Annabeth and Piper had made to their skinnier, healthier celebrity friends—the bartender brought out a round of shots.

"OH YEAH!" cried Piper.

Percy reached out for two and put one in front of himself and the other before Annabeth. Annabeth pushed it away timidly. "I can't drink this," she said, expressionlessly. "I'm not 21 yet."

"You think it matters, Annabeth?" Percy replied. "We're separated from the dance floor by a wall, and nobody that can see us has a phone out."

"I've only ever had wine though in Europe, and even that took a lot of getting used to before it tasted okay…"

"Look, I'm not saying you should get drunk, but it's one of your best friends' birthday parties, and I think you should have fun and try something new. Besides, I'll be here if the shot is poisoned or something. You trust me, right?"

Annabeth looked up at Percy and couldn't help but laugh. "I totally do not. I think you'd be the one to poison my shot if anything."

Percy mocked hurt. "I. Am. Offended, Annabeth. How could you not trust me?" He batted his eyelashes.

Annabeth gave him a light push in response. "You have an untrustworthy face," she said, giggling.

Percy's face softened—whether in response to that comment or not, Annabeth did not know. "Let's do them together," he said, referring to the shots. "Are you down?"

Annabeth knew he was asking the same thing Piper would ask if she wasn't already four shots deep and separated from Annabeth by a whooping Thalia. Besides, trying new things with friends was a good way to make friends, and God knows Annabeth was trying to do that with Percy. And besides number two was that Annabeth was twenty one in about a month and didn't even plan on drinking anything else so it was fine.

So Annabeth raised her shot and clinked it with Percy's raised one. "Cheers," she said softly. Annabeth started pouring the shot into her mouth but plugged her nose the second she tasted it. "This is disgusting," she said, with a very disgusted look on her face.

Percy meanwhile, laughed his ass off at Annabeth's reaction. "It's an acquired taste," he told her. Before Annabeth could kill Percy for convincing her to take that shot, a very drunk and unsteady Piper teetered up to them supported by an equally drunk but infinitely more stable Thalia. Annabeth got under Piper's other shoulder and they supported her to the dance floor where they began dancing. Percy watched as the girls alternated who saved Piper from falling while he sat at the bar and talked to his band mates.


	6. Chapter 6: Night Changes

**A/N:** Hi guys! I am sososososo sorry about the taking several months to update. I started university this fall and it has been wonderful, but I overloaded myself with activities, so I didn't have much time to work on writing, and for some reason, this chapter was insanely difficult to finish. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it, and I'm working on chapters over the break so that I can update on time! This chapter features Percy and Annabeth having some nice conversations and being all cute. As always, reviews and follows are appreciated and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Night Changes**

"Hey," Percy felt arms snake around his neck and a head on his right shoulder. "I'm heading home now," Annabeth said softly to him

"Annabeth, if you wanted me to go home with me, all you had to do was ask," Percy winked at her.

Annabeth gripped Percy's shoulders very tightly. "I've already said good night to my friends, but Reyna oh so kindly reminded me that I need to say good night to you so as not to arouse any suspicion."

"How 'bout I arouse something else?"

"Good night!" Annabeth said crossly, lightly pushing him and beginning to walk away.

"Wait," she felt a tug on her arm. Percy was holding on to her hand. "I'm coming with you."

Annabeth continued walking. "No thank you. I told you I don't want to go home with you, so why don't you take a hint."

"Annabeth," Percy said, slightly exasperated. "I can see the street from here. First—you're either walking or driving and there's no car so I'm either waiting for the car with you or walking you home. And second—the paparazzi is still out there. It isn't even one in the morning, so they'll all probably make up an imaginary feud between you and Piper. Let me take you out a different way."

Percy had led Annabeth through a supply room, into an alley—Annabeth held on to her keys in case she needed to defend herself—and out onto the other side of the block. Annabeth turned her map app on just in case and the two walked together in silence.

"So…" Annabeth started, trailing off.

"So…" Percy trailed off in response.

"I have so many questions," Annabeth said, looking up at Percy.

"I don't know how far your house is, but we have plenty of time—shoot."

"How'd you know how to get out of that club?"

"Chase, I am offended," Percy feigned hurt and put one hand to his chest while using the other to wipe an imaginary tear away from his face. "I am, like, the king of clubbing. I've been to every good club in this city and—"

"Let me guess," Annabeth cut him off, "You got lost on your way to the bathroom and you happened to notice an exit light blinking in the storage room."

"No!" Percy quickly replied, looking away.

"Oh you did! You so did!"

"Shut up! I have actually been to that club and I know it. Otherwise I would've accidentally led you to the bathroom when we were leaving."

"That is the worst excuse ever. You just don't want to admit that you have a problem"

"With what?"

"Partying."

"I don't have a problem! You have a problem!" he whined.

"That was the worst come back I've ever heard," Annabeth laughed.

"Shut up," Percy muttered.

"Ok. Next question: why are you walking home with me? You're not getting anything out of this. If anything, I ruined the rest of the night for you and you have to take even longer to get home."

"I honestly don't mind—you're fun to talk to especially when you're angry. And besides, my mom raised me to be a gentleman."

Annabeth couldn't contain her laughter. She almost tripped over herself in the stilettos she had on, so she grabbed Percy's arm and continued laughing. "What?" Percy asked, confused. Annabeth thought she was done but she burst out into another fit of laughter at that. "Seriously. Annabeth!"

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said, gasping for air. "I almost thought for a second that you referred to yourself as a…gentleman." She burst out laughing on the last word when she looked at his face. "I can't believe you're serious!"

"Hey hey hey! I'll have you know that I never let a woman go home alone when it's dangerous. Usually I go home with her, but that's not the point! And I'm never creepy towards girls either!"

"Interesting take on chivalry, Jackson," Annabeth mused.

"Chivalry isn't dead, Chase," Percy responded. "It's just adapted with the times."

"Let's agree to disagree on that one," Annabeth said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the subject.

"My turn for a question," Percy said.

"Fineeee," Annabeth replied begrudgingly.

"It's not serious or anything—I just needed to get you to be quiet enough so that I can ask you something I'm wondering."

"I can so be quiet long enough," Annabeth muttered.

Percy raised his eyebrows at her and Annabeth let out a huff of air.

"Why did you want to leave so early?" Percy asked, concerned. "Are you feeling well? You waited until the clock struck midnight then you scrambled out of there faster than Cinderella."

"Not all of us like to party, Jackson," Annabeth responded, suddenly offended. Realizing the harshness of her voice, she softened it before she continued. "I mean… Piper told me to come over for baking and eating junk food and watching movies, and then she and Hazel shanghaied me and forced me to show up. It was pretty fun, but only because my friends were there—in general, I need to be mentally prepared for a party. I didn't even eat dinner!" she exclaimed at the same time her stomach rumbled. She covered it and looked down in embarrassment.

"Hmmm… I know how to fix that," Percy said, smirking. "There's a great place that's only a few minutes away," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a run.

"Percy!" Annabeth screeched, struggling to keep up in her heels. Annabeth finally fell into a rhythm and caught up to Percy, throwing her arms out and enjoying the breeze.

After a few minutes, the pair slowed to a walk. The silence and deep breathing were interrupted when Percy said "We're here."

Annabeth's stomach immediately resumed grumbling while looking at the inconspicuous restaurant. "Come on!" she said, dragging Percy behind her and making him stumble. She laughed, thinking of the payback.

Annabeth staggered into the restaurant out of breath, with Percy following right behind her. Percy put a hand on her back and led her to the register. Annabeth glared at him but remained silent. As Annabeth started reading the menu, mouth salivating, Percy spoke. "Two usual's please, Dave."

Annabeth elbowed Percy in the gut. "What the hell?" she asked.

Percy groaned. "What? They don't have really have salads here and I thought you'd get mad and lecture me on how women don't all want to eat salads if I tried to get you one. Please don't hurt me."

"You don't understand," Annabeth said. "You didn't ask me what I wanted. Are you really that inconsiderate?"

"Sorry. This is my favorite burger place. I just got really excited, and their double cheeseburgers are basically how this place got its name— _Ambrosia_."

"We'll see about that. And by the way—I do not eat salads as meals. They really just aren't filling." Percy gave her a cheeky wink and she rolled her eyes.

Finally, the cheeseburgers arrived. Annabeth grabbed one and the side of fries that came with it, and rushed to the nearest booth. She started eating the burger before Percy even slid into the booth across from her. "This is amazing. I want to marry this burger," Annabeth spoke with her mouth full, her precious burger threatening to fall out of her mouth.

"Beth, I thought we had something special," Percy mocked, hand on his heart.

Annabeth looked at him in disdain. "This burger is better way better than you'll ever be."

"I bet I taste better," Percy leaned in, whispering in Annabeth's ear.

Annabeth placed her palm on Percy's face and pushed him away. She finished her bite of burger and threw a fry at him. "You are absolutely nasty. I told you not to make comments like that."

"Chill. Kissing isn't that inappropriate—I get that it was out of line, but it wasn't like I was—oh," Percy realized what Annabeth thought he meant. "Annabeth," Percy continued seductively. "If you just wanted that you could have just told me. Who am I to deny a pretty lady what she wants?"

"Leave me alone! You started it!"

"Yes, but you're the one who thought I was talking about blowjobs."

"Shut up," Annabeth said with a tone of finality, sliding into her seat and stuffing her mouth with burger.

"Whatever you say, Beth," Percy said with a satisfied smirk on his face.

The duo ate in awkward silence until they both finished. Annabeth and Percy made eye contact and Annabeth looked away quickly, blushing. "We should—uh—probably go," she whispered.

Percy nodded in agreement and they got up. After leaving the restaurant, they wandered around until they came across a familiar street. Annabeth then started walking the familiar way home then she stopped. "You know…" she trailed off. "You don't need to put up with me any longer. I know the way home. I've walked it before. I'm fine alone."

"You're kidding, right?" Percy asked in disbelief. "There's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone. This is LA. You're famous. And you've still got more than an hour of walking left. At least take a cab."

"Can't," Annabeth told him simply. "I left most of my valuables at Piper's after she told me we were going out. I only got like 1 shot, but I'd rather not see how far $15 can take me at 1:30 am."

"All right, then let's go," Percy announced, taking Annabeth's hand before she could protest.

Percy and Annabeth walked in silence for a long time. Annabeth stopped suddenly. "I can't take this anymore. My feet hurt so much and the ground is filthy. I'm going to kill Piper for giving me these damn stilettos."

Percy gaped. "Did you just curse?"

"Yes," Annabeth responded uncertainly, looking at him like he'd grown a second head. "So?"

"It's just—you're so— _good_ ," Percy responded.

Annabeth felt her face redden in anger. "Ok just because I enjoy being all sunshine and rainbows and like keeping my music themes PG doesn't mean I can't curse. I don't particularly see a need for cursing, but I will when I _fucking_ want to," she said, emphasizing the curse word.

"Anyway," said Percy, clearly uncomfortable with a woman's anger. "Jump." He moved so that he was slightly crouched in front of Annabeth.

"What?"

"Your feet hurt and you don't want them to touch the bare ground. I'm giving you a piggy bag ride so we can keep going. Seems like a pretty simple solution to me. Are you stupid?"

"But…" Annabeth blushed, looking away.

"That's what I thought." Percy smiled and started running backwards toward her. Annabeth stumbled back a few steps before she gave up.

"Fineeee," she groaned. She placed her arms on Percy's shoulders and jumped. Despite Percy's insistence at the piggy back ride, he seemed to be caught off guard and had to readjust after almost dropping Annabeth.

Percy sauntered with Annabeth on his back for a long time. "This is nice," Annabeth mused after a while. Percy was silent below here. She shifted to look at him. "Something wrong?"

"Nah. You're not that heavy, but this is going to take a while so I'm saving my breath."

"Oh this is ridiculous! Put me down then. My feet have hurt way more before."

"No!"

"But we have another 30 minutes to walk!"

"Not anymore!" Percy said, as he took off running.

Annabeth was surprised by how far Percy made it running with her on his back. He made it several blocks before he slowed, out of breath.

"OK, we get it—you're all strong and manly. Put me down now so we can walk."

Percy refused until Annabeth started swinging from side to side, throwing him off balance. Realizing he was too tired, Percy grumbled something incoherent and put Annabeth down. After he made a big show of stretching his limbs and giving Annabeth a dirty look, they continued walking.

"So…" Annabeth trailed off, "How do you know Thalia?"

"We're cousins," Percy responded simply.

"Wait, WHAT? Thalia's one of my really good friends! How did I not know that?"

"Well did you ever talk about me?" Percy asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah, now I see why I never knew about you. I don't think your name has ever come up. It must be weird for her to have a cousin in a famous band she competes with."

"And brother," Percy added.

"Brother?" Annabeth asked, confused.

"Yeah. Jason is Thalia's brother and my other cousin."

"That's why he looks so familiar! I think I've heard of him, but why haven't I met him before?"

"He went to a boarding school for a bit. Probably before you met Thalia. Then he lived in New York with some relatives where he met yours truly."

"Unreal! I can't believe one of my best friends is your cousin!"

"What can I say? I have awesome family. I mean, Thalia and Jason's dad is kind of shit, and my dad isn't the best either, but at least he tries. Anyway—not the point," Percy stopped himself, smiling apologetically.

"Yeah ok," Annabeth said, smiling through the urge to frown.

"This is your street, right?" Percy said, trying to keep the conversation from stalling.

"Yeah! How'd you know, stalker?" Annabeth teased.

"Well, I've been to your house before," Percy responded, trying to sound creepy but failing, eliciting giggles from Annabeth.

Walking in silence until they reached Annabeth's property, she punched a code and opened the smaller gate. Upon reaching the doorway, Percy and Annabeth faced each other in silence. "Thanks for helping me escape the party early," Annabeth looked up, smiling softly.

Percy remained stone-faced for a second, before breaking out into a smile. "Not a problem. I couldn't watch you fail at leaving early—actually, that would have been pretty amusing."

"Oh, shut up."

"Well, I should probably walk back now…" Percy started, slowly.

"Wait no!" Annabeth saw Percy's eyebrows raise and she quickly elaborated. "Let me call you a cab. You can't walk all the way back into town on your own."

"I don't have any money, though. And I don't mind walking."

"You're not walking back, you doofus. I'll pay for it."

"No it's fine. I don't want to owe you."

"So? You just pay me back tomorrow or something. You're going to see me again."

"No! Just let me walk!" Percy said, raising his voice.

"Absolutely not!" Annabeth responded identically. As they stood, ready to fight, Annabeth had an idea and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down. "You're sleeping over," she told Percy earnestly.

"What? No. I'm walking back," Percy stated, visibly calmer due to Annabeth's calm.

"Please sleep over, Percy," Annabeth begged, one foot in the door.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to take our relationship to the next level," Percy said, grinning.

"Don't—" Annabeth glared at him. She stepped inside and gestured to him to follow. "Ok, so I'm going to go make up a bed for you. I can show you to the bathroom if you need to pee or something."

"Don't bother, Beth, I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Don't call me that. And that's fine, but I am bringing sheets and a duvet for you."

Before Percy could even open his mouth to protest, Annabeth had returned, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and holding a stack of sheets, a new toothbrush, and a mini bottle of toothpaste. Percy went to brush his teeth while Annabeth began putting sheets on the couch and putting a duvet cover on the duvet. When Percy came back, he was met with the amusing sight of Annabeth dancing around trying to shimmy the duvet into its cover. He got out his phone and started taking a video, but suddenly, he heard Annabeth yell at him as her dancing led her to turn toward where he was standing.

"Are you taking a video of me?" she yelled, stuffing the last bit of duvet into the cover.

"No," Percy chuckled, keeping the camera trained on Annabeth. Annabeth, however, was having none of it and lunged at him. Percy quickly went from feeling amusement to a fear of Annabeth's wrath that was far greater than it should be for a girl of her size. She toppled him over and tried to wrench the phone from Percy's hands as he curled into a fetal position and cradled his phone. "Please don't hurt me," he whispered repeatedly.

Finally, Annabeth got a solid hold on Percy's phone and tugged. Unfortunately, Percy pulled back, and instead of Annabeth winning the phone, she flew and landed half on Percy, phone still clutched in her hands. As she rolled off Percy and landed in front of him, she saw his eyes clenched tightly shut. Forgetting her mission, she started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Percy opened his eyes in surprise and grinned at Annabeth's laughter. Feeling her grip on his phone loosen, Percy took it back to finish what he started. Though he had only recorded the video on snapchat for convenience and had planned to save it for blackmail in the future, he needed to get Annabeth back for attacking him, so he typed a quick caption and posted it to his story.

After Annabeth's giggles calmed down, she remembered why she was on the floor in the first place. "Please delete the video," she said.

"Too late. I put it on snapchat," Percy grinned.

"Ass!" Annabeth exclaimed, kicking him in the gut before unlocking her own phone to look at his story. As she watched the video, her eyes narrowed. "'I leave the room for a minute and I come back to this.' Why would you do that, Percy?"

"Hey! It's very entertaining! And I wasn't going to post it, but you attacked me."

"You're not getting away with this. I'll kill you in your sleep if I have to," Annabeth said, lunging once more. Percy moved his phone, but not himself, so Annabeth's face ended up very close to his.

"You'll have to kill me then. You don't even know my passcode," Percy told her.

Annabeth suddenly became aware of the proximity and stood up. "Alright then, it's well past three in the morning, so I'm going to go to sleep. The lights are right here on this wall, so just turn them off when you're ready to sleep. Good night," Annabeth said dismissively, going upstairs and leaving Percy alone.


	7. Chapter 7: Busted at Breakfast

**A/N:** Hi guys! Thanks for all the follows and reviews! Someone asked me to put up a posting schedule. I'm no good at posting on time, but I figure if I put it online, I'll be more accountable and more likely to stick to it, so I am hoping to post every Sunday or Monday night. I realize this is being posted on a Tuesday, but I've been procrastinating posting for 2 days. Anyway, this is just a bit of a filler chapter. It is kind of funny and very cute and I hope you guys enjoy it! Please continue reviewing and following! Love you guys!

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Busted at Breakfast**

Annabeth woke up the next morning and walked downstairs. She had almost forgotten that she had insisted Percy sleep over, so the pile of sheets on the couch put her off when she first saw it. Approaching the couch quietly so as not to wake him, Annabeth took a good look at Percy. He was cuddled into the duvet, hugging it tightly and breathing deeply. His face was smushed against the pillow and his hair stuck up haphazardly, making him look so much younger and more vulnerable than the cocky aura he had while he was conscious did. Annabeth took out her phone and snapped a photo of the rock star in front of her. After saving it, she captioned it and used the snapchat colors to draw a moustache, then put it on her story to let the payback commence.

Sad to tear herself away from a peaceful Percy such as she may never see again (though may relive thanks to the photo safely saved to her camera roll), Annabeth walked over to the kitchen to make breakfast. She settled on making blueberry muffins this time because she didn't know if Percy would actually eat anything without blueberries for breakfast (she thought he would eat anything, but had a sneaking suspicion he would make a big deal out of whatever she made beforehand). Taking her time mixing the ingredients while listening to music and checking her social media, Annabeth realized it was almost noon. She quickly poured the batter into her muffin tin, put them into the oven, and set a timer, then walked back over to the living room.

Percy was still fast asleep and had only adjusted himself a bit in the time Annabeth had spent in the kitchen. Despite how cute he looked, Annabeth knew that he had to return to his obnoxious self at some point, and that it was better for her to wake him up than be surprised when he came into the kitchen and started annoying her. "Percy, wake up," she whispered gently. Percy seemed to be dead, giving absolutely no indication he heard her. "Percy," Annabeth said slightly louder. This time she leaned in to gently shake his shoulder. "Percy, wake up," Annabeth said one more time, shaking his shoulder.

Yelping, Annabeth landed on top of Percy on the couch as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a bear hug. She yelped as she landed. The couch was not nearly large enough for both of them, and Annabeth gulped as she came to the realization that Percy was not wearing a shirt. "Percy," Annabeth squeaked. "Let go of me."

"Mmm mmm" Percy grumbled, which Annabeth took to mean no, considering how his arms tightened around her waist.

The sensation of Percy's bare muscular arms around her wasn't unpleasant to Annabeth, but though it had been a while since a man had cuddled with her, Annabeth wasn't entirely sure she wanted Percy specifically to be holding her, especially since he was half asleep and would not do this awake—he would, on the contrary, probably get her this close only to tell her lewd jokes. Annabeth put her hand on his arm to try to shake him again, but to no avail. Then, she noticed how cold her hands were compared to his arm.

In a final attempt to wake Percy before accepting her fate and dying in his arms before his eventual return to consciousness, Annabeth decided that the only way to escape, besides pulling his hair and trying to pull him out of bed (which would result in him landing on her), was to expose her cold extremities to him. She used her limited motion to get under the covers and put her cold feet up against his warm ones. That got a grunt from Percy. "Wake up, you idiot," she told him.

"Noooo," Percy whined back. Annabeth moved her feet up and down his legs. She was really starting to hate herself. This was getting unnecessarily intimate and she really didn't have time for this. She really should have just let Percy wake up on his own.

The feet only caused Percy to whine more, so Annabeth placed her hands on Percy's arm again but got no reaction. She then put them on his chest and moved them horizontally. She was surprised by how much she wanted to move her hands down but damn it, it had been a while since she'd been this close to a guy and it was admittedly the finest chest she'd been up close to, so this didn't mean anything.

Suddenly, Percy's eyes fluttered open. "Annabeth?" Percy asked dumbly. "What are you doing?"

Annabeth's hands flew off of Percy's chest as though it was a stove top and she had just been burned. "I was trying to wake you up, you moron," Annabeth said awkwardly, but nevertheless firmly.

"That's not what it looks like to me…" Percy said, smirking.

"Alright, listen here, you idiot," Annabeth started, feeling equal parts embarrassment and annoyance. "I simply tried to wake you up and you grabbed my waist and pulled me _on top of you_. What was I supposed to do?"

"Maybe you could have kissed me awake?" Percy teased, hopeful.

"Nice try, buddy. Like that would have gone over so much better than the cold hands and feet."

"Whatever. Despite the fact that your feet are the coldest thing I've ever felt on me," Percy said pointedly, "I'm kind of enjoying this awkward hug thing we've got going. You're kind of like an oversized, skinny teddy bear. And you smell amazing."

"You're kidding, right?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows and wondering what the punchline was (something related to her no doubt). The punchline, however, seemed to be lost, because the smile Percy gave her, though playful, was a genuine one. "Alright, I'll take it as a compliment. But please release me."

"But I'm comfortable. And besides, this is your fault."

Before Annabeth could decide whether to fight or accept her fate, she smelled something from the kitchen. "The muffins!" she screamed as the timer rang. In her excitement to prevent perfectly good muffins from burning, she flailed and accidentally hit Percy in the jaw, causing him to let go of her and allowing her to escape. She ran into the kitchen to pull the muffins out of the oven. As she was pulling them out with oven mitts on, Percy blearily stumbled into the kitchen rubbing his jaw.

"These muffins better taste fucking amazing," Percy said, stifling a yawn and plopping into one of the kitchen chairs.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth scoffed, offended. "I'll have you know that I am the greatest at baking. Even if you weren't obsessed with blueberries, you'd be all over these. Plus, muffins are always amazing," she said as she brought a plate piled high with muffins to the table and sat down.

"Can't argue with any of that," Percy said, stuffing a muffin into his mouth. "Mmmmmm."

"Told you," Annabeth smirked.

The room was silent save for the sounds of chewing as Percy and Annabeth stuffed their faces with muffins. The silence was broken by the loud ringing of Annabeth's phone. "It's Reyna," Annabeth taking a look at her screen. "Hello?"

"Don't you hello me, Annabeth. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I'm sorry Reyna, but what have I done?" Annabeth asked. Percy raised his eyebrows but she just shook her head in response.

"How stupid can you be? You and Percy posted about each other on snapchat and now the media is all over you two! There's paparazzi outside your gate, there's articles all over the internet, and I'm pretty sure you're going to show up in that stupid snapchat story about what celebrities did that week!"

"Reyna, hold on…" Annabeth said, trying to wrap her mind around what Reyna said. "I'm failing to see the problem here… Isn't your job to portray us as like a believable couple? Shouldn't this make you happy?"

"Yes! I mean—that's not the point! The point is that you guys are totally unpredictable! What if you post something honest that makes people doubt your relationship!"

"Relax, Reyna, we won't jeopardize this."

"You better not. And now that I've gotten that off my chest, I can tell you good job. That snapchat stunt was probably more believable than anything I could've thought of."

Annabeth smiled at the slight praise and exchanged good byes with Reyna. As soon as the call was done, she rounded on Percy. "This is all your fault! _Everybody_ saw the snaps!"

"I thought that was good! Didn't Reyna just drag us then praise us?"

"Yes, but I didn't realize that _the entire world_ would see your snapchat! You embarrassed me in front of everyone! And now the road outside is _crawling_ with people!"

"Ok, ok," Percy said. "I'm sorry. But you did look cute. And I don't really regret posting it. Even though that snap of me is more embarrassing. But really paparazzi would harass us either way, so let's forget about it. We good?"

"Fine," Annabeth begrudged. "But watch yourself. And you have to buy me food."

"Deal," Percy smiled.


	8. Chapter 8: After the After Party

A/N: Hello my lovely readers. I did it again. I am so so sorry. I have no control over my life (in both the super busy sense and also I just cannot force myself to commit to as many things as I've committed to). I've had a really busy few weeks, and this next week is going to be hell, but I will try to get the next chapter up in 2 weeks! This is way shorter than I want it to be and I'm used to writing, and it's a bit of a filler, but it's necessary and cute. I hope you all enjoy it. Please please please follow and review!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: After the After Party**

Annabeth ducked into the restaurant and looked around. Spotting Piper, who was wearing sunglasses and drinking water, Annabeth made her way over. "Hey girl. How does it feel to be twenty-one?"

"Oh shut up. Can you please not yell? And why'd we have to meet so early?"

"Piper, it's been two days since your party. You must be _really_ hungover."

"Yeah," Piper said, sounding near tears. "I don't know what happened. Everything was fine. Then we took some birthday shots. Then the girls and I took some more—I think you left by then, making this your fault," Piper said, glaring at Annabeth. "Yes, Annabeth," Piper said, in response to Annabeth's shock. "You are the responsible mom, hence you should have prevented this from happening. Then, before I knew it, it was like 6am, and Thalia and I were drinking and watching a movie. At least I didn't end up making out with a rando. At least, Hazel, ever sober, said I didn't. And I think she handed me off to the body guards before she left, so I don't think I did."

"That's good then. Or wait—did you want to make out with someone?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

"I didn't think I did. But God, that Jason guy in Percy's band is so _hot_. Do you think you could set us up?"

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. She did agree that Jason was very hot, but he was related to both Percy and Thalia. "Piper, you know he's Thalia's brother? And Percy's cousin?"

"THALIA HAS A BROTHER?" Piper shouted, then held her head. "When you're so hungover you hurt yourself," she said, wincing. "That's even better, Annabeth. Because that means that we'll be related when we get married to those two hot pieces of ass."

"Piper, you know that Percy and I aren't actually—"

"Shhhhh," Piper said, putting her finger on Annabeth's lips to cut her off. "I'm still hung over from my birthday, which I can somehow extrapolate to mean that it's still my birthday, so everything I say goes."

"Didn't know you knew the word extrapolate even when you were sober, but okay, Pipes."

"Fuck off, it's still my birthday," Piper said, still all up in Annabeth's face.

The guys slowly started filtering into Percy's house. First Jason and Frank came in, joining Percy in watching his movie, and made some small talk. Nobody knew when Nico came in, but he showed up after Frank and Jason but before he told them to 'shut up because he loved this part of the movie'. Finally, after hearing faint crashes coming from the garage for about an hour, Leo emerged into the living room covered in sweat and a large grin. "I set up a cool new piece for my drum set," he told them, grinning, as though he hadn't been doing the same thing since before the band was formed. They all just hoped that this piece of percussion wouldn't fall off and catch on fire, as some others had.

Leo joined them and they sat in comfortable silence watching the movie. No one knew what it was, except for maybe Nico, but it seemed to be an action movie with Annabeth's friend Hazel in it. Percy figured it would be easy to figure out the name, as the girl looked like she usually acted in more emotional movies.

"Wow, she's so pretty," Frank said with a sigh, as the camera cut to a close-up of Hazel's face.

"Good night, eh?" Jason asked.

"I mean, I only talked to her a little bit, but she's so beautiful and so sweet. She seems like she has such a pure heart, but—" Frank trailed off. It was evident that Frank wanted to get to know Hazel, but he was such a romantic and he only wanted something that was real. When the band began, all the girls that talked to Frank wanted to get to know him for his personality, but ever since he got some muscle, more girls thought he was hot and interacted with him because of his muscles and fame—a fact that Frank would never be comfortable with. He thought Hazel liked him for him, but he'd thought that before.

"Don't worry, Frank," Percy said, breaking the silence the room had fallen into. "Hazel's one of Annabeth's really good friends. "I know Annabeth, and anyone that hangs with her has got to be the real deal."

Percy cringed after he said that. Everyone turned to look at him with grins on their faces. "So how was _your_ night, Percy?" Nico asked. "You and Annabeth both mysteriously _disappeared_ so early," he said, smirking.

"Yeah, so? We took a walk," Percy shrugged.

"And then there was that snapchat on your story," Nico continued. "And the snapchat on _her_ story," Nico finished, with a shit-eating grin.

"Yeah, ok. I slept over," Percy said, getting all defensive. "But we didn't sleep together. And now that I think about it, I was having so much fun that the thought never crossed my mind." Percy felt a confused look develop as he realized what he had said.

"Who are you and what have you done with Percy Jackson?" Leo said, laughing. "But for real man. It's been less than a month and you are so whipped."

Percy tried not to be angry, seeing as he and Annabeth weren't even dating, so there was nothing for him to be whipped by. "Whatever," he muttered.

"By the way," Jason started. "When do we next get the pleasure of Annabeth's company?"

"I don't know. I think she said she's got an album coming out soon. She's probably insanely busy."

"INVITE HER!" Leo shouted.

"Guys, shouldn't we start practicing?"

"Oh, come on, Percy," Frank said. "We all know we won't get that much done anyway. If Annabeth doesn't cut practice short, something else will."

"Ok, fine," Percy sighed. "I'll see if she's free." He started typing a text.

 _We're practicing rn and the guys want u to come over. R u free?_

 _The guys or you? ;) Yeah, I'm free. Can I bring Piper?_

Percy glanced over at Jason and smiled to himself. _Hell yeah, she's awesome_ , he wrote.

Annabeth looked up from her phone with a sly smile on her face. "Hey Piper—want to come to Percy's band practice?"

"Will Jason be there?"

"I mean, he's in the band."

"Hell yeah! Ow! Still a little hung over. We need to swing by my house so I can put on something cuter and take an aspirin."

"Let's go then."


	9. Chapter 9: I'm Just a Sad Song

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm so sorry I abandoned this story! I didn't mean to, it's just that I got really busy with all my classes and I did have a teeny bit of free time, but I always get really anxious when I try to use my free time to focus on something that isn't what I should be focusing on. This is just a filler chapter and I have to go back and edit it, but I had a hard time writing it as well, hence being MIA for so long. I'm working loads this summer, but no stress so expect proper updates! Also thank you to **LivelyEmeraldGreenEyes** for putting my baby (this story) on their Personal Percy Jackson Favorites list-having people love my story is the dream. Love you guys and don't forget to favorite and review.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: I'm Just a Sad Song**

After a very hungover Piper disappeared behind aspirin, some sunglasses, and a casual-yet-still-trendy outfit of cut-offs and a flowy white blouse, Annabeth drove them to the address Percy had sent her. She had never been to his house before, but she wasn't surprised by what she saw. The house was a generically well-made house. It was on the larger side, as a celebrity's house was expected to be, but wasn't too large for someone who was chill and lived alone like Percy. It didn't represent who Percy was but it didn't not represent him either—rather, it conveyed someone who was fulfilling expectations rather than doing what he wanted. _That seems to fit Percy rather well_ , Annabeth thought grimly.

Annabeth put in the code Percy had texted her and waved to the guard at the gate. She started driving up the driveway. When she parked, she took a deep breath.

"Why are you so nervous, Annie? You've already met all of these guys at my party. Unless—" Piper stopped. "You want to make a good impression! You like him! Omg I was right, and we can go on double dates with the hot cousins and—"

Annabeth stopped Piper, irritated by her rambling. "I do not like Percy, Pipes. His bandmates seem nice enough but I have no idea what they're like normally. Also, you're definitely able to see through our act. I don't know how much his bandmates know, but he definitely didn't tell them it was a set up when we were at your party. Even if they only knew him half as well as you know me, we still wouldn't survive."

"Stop rambling, Annabeth," Piper retorted, opening the door. You guys fool me half the time, so I'm sure you'll be fine." The girls got out and walked to the door.

After ringing the doorbell, the girls heard a bunch of commotion come from inside the house. Leo opened the door with a large grin on his face, with Percy panting behind him. "Hey ladies," Leo said, winking. "Welcome to the Casa Jackson."

"Leo," Percy said, trying to catch his breath. "For the last time. We are not calling my place 'Casa Jackson'."

"You're no fun, Jackson," Leo pouted. "Anyway," he continued, moving from the door. "Come in, come in."

The girls followed the guys into the basement, where the rest of the guys were lounging with their various instruments. "Hey boys," Piper said, smirking. Jason, who was leaning back in a stool with his feet up on the table, tickling a guitar, half fell over when he saw her. He barely managed to save his guitar from certain doom and propped himself back into his seat, grinning. Piper's grin widened in response.

"So guys, shall we provide the girls with a sample of our music?" Jason said, still trying to recover from his momentary flustered behavior.

"Kronos?" Nico asked, quietly. Annabeth remembered this song from way back when she listened to their music. It brought back several memories, many of which she didn't want to come up in this moment.

Leo counted them off and they all went into the song. It was equal parts ballad and edge. Leo's drumline was hard and Nico's delicate fingers struck the chords beautifully on the keyboard, while Frank kept up a baseline that was as strong as him but still gentle. Jason ripped into his guitar, while Piper watched, fascinated. Percy, meanwhile, played chords and sang about time—the sands of time ebbing and flowing, bringing him and a past love within each other's grasps, but pulling them apart because the timing wasn't right. Annabeth saw his torment and couldn't help but wonder if he was just empathetic, or if this was a real part of Percy—a part that was just hidden under all the womanizing and crude jokes. Despite the media's criticism about Annabeth for 'only writing love songs' and allegedly being a serial dater, Annabeth needed to get out all of her emotions, and she appreciated the need for others to do that. She wondered who had hurt Percy, and felt even closer to him after this display of vulnerability.

The closing chords to the song rang out as the guys stood motionless. Percy panted and wiped his face—Annabeth couldn't tell if the liquid was sweat, tears, or both. _It was probably both_ , she assumed. Annabeth and Piper gave them a standing ovation, Piper smiling widely while Annabeth held back tears. Now was not the time to unload emotional baggage. Piper put her arm around Annabeth and gave her an unassuming squeeze. The guys smiled, oblivious; conferred; and launched into another song. They played one amazing song after another, so Annabeth figured that this was the set list for their previous tour.

"And now, ladies," Percy smiled, "We are going to play our newest single, from our newest album. This is 'Amnesia'."

Annabeth immediately remembered listening to this when she bought _The Lost Hero_. Percy and Jason both sang on it. They were amazing when they sang separately, but they were even better when they joined forces—Annabeth marveled at their cousin-best friend bond and almost wished she had a band to process her feelings with through music. Her friends were wonderful and always listened to her songs, but performing together was different—the closest she had ever gotten was songwriting with Thalia.

"You guys are amazing," Annabeth said, quietly. Percy came over to her, about to give her a hug and kiss. She accepted the hug, but went in for a kiss on the cheek.

"Annabeth, they don't know about us," Percy whispered, kissing her ear. Annabeth responded by dragging her lips to his and giving a quick peck.

"Happy?" she whispered, forcing a smile. Before Percy could answer, she changed her expression to a wondering one to prevent it from cracking. "Where's your bathroom?"

"The easiest to reach is probably the one just at the top of the stairs."

"Ok. Hey Piper," Annabeth called out to her friend, who was talking to the other guys. "Bathroom?"

"Um…" Piper trailed off. "Sure!" She said, seeing Annabeth raise her eyebrows.

"Man, chicks are weird," Leo huffed.

"Yeah. I definitely dodged a bullet there," Nico snickered.

The guys continued talking and Jason came up to Percy. "Dude, that's the best you've ever played," he whispered.

"Bro," Percy joked, pretending to get all misty-eyed.

"Bro," Jason responded. "But for real," he continued after a minute, "Annabeth makes you perform _so_ much better."

"What?" Percy said, confused. "I played and sang the same way as always…"

"Come on, Percy. You don't need to try to be a tough guy around me. That's the best guitar I've heard you play in a long time, and you were near tears during some of those songs. The guitar was definitely because of Annabeth, but now that I think about it, do you miss—"

"No." Percy cut Jason off. "I'm fine, and any difference in my playing is purely coincidental. I have no idea what you're talking about." Percy said, going upstairs.

Piper washed her hands as Annabeth peed behind her. "Are you okay, Annie?" Piper asked, looking over her shoulder.

"No, Pipes, I'm not," Annabeth said, close to tears. She flushed the toilet and moved to stand next to Piper and wash her hands. "I like Percy's music a lot, but some of the music reminds me of Luke. Especially Kronos. We loved that song. I thought I was over him, but sometimes I get these waves of missing him, and it's just so shitty." Annabeth's tears started coming in full force.

"Annabeth," Piper whispered, pulling her friend close. "I know you miss Luke, but he was so horrible to you—you can't think that way. Normally, I wouldn't recommend this, but as it's been two years, you just need to have an infinitely more fulfilling relationship to show you that you don't miss what you had with Luke."

"But how can I?" Annabeth sobbed quietly into Piper's shoulder. "Percy and I are fake dating, so I can't really date someone until that's over. Reyna's got this planned at least through my album release in October, and probably into the new year."

"Dude, then have something with Percy."

Annabeth looked at Piper disbelievingly. "Ew."

"Look, I know that you have your heart set on not falling for him, and you're not the kind to do things without emotions, but just flirt with him. You're friends, right? It'll be fun."

"Fun… I mean, yeah, fine," Annabeth said blankly.

"Alright, now are you ready to go? All cried out?" Piper asked, holding Annabeth's shoulders. Annabeth weakly nodded. "If they ask why we took so long, allude to periods. Or better yet, makeup. Which reminds me," she said, pulling out some concealer and attacking Annabeth's face.

"Thank you, Piper," Annabeth said, smiling.

"Any time."

When the girls exited the bathroom, they realized all the guys had moved upstairs, and they followed all of the commotion to the kitchen. Leo and Frank were practicing some wrestling moves while Nico and Percy raided the fridge and Jason sat on the couch in the living room, reading a book and wearing glasses. Piper gave Annabeth a look and made her way over to the couch, where she sat down next to Jason and prodded him about his book. Annabeth joined Nico and Percy by the fridge and stole a bowl of grapes right out of Percy's hand. He protested and they joked, just as she had come to expect they would. Soon, Nico, Frank, and Leo joined them and they all tried to throw food into each other's mouths. Jason and Piper contributed some commentary, and before Annabeth knew it, she was competing with Leo to see who was the best at catching food, her heartbreak far behind her.


	10. Chapter 10: Double Trouble

**A/N:** Hi friends! Sorry that took an obscenely long time. I honestly hate myself. I actually spent most of the time trying to work on the next chapter which I thought would be part of this, but it ended up being longer than I next update will be very soon! Update about my life: My birthday was a few weeks ago, and I'm done with my job! I literally had like an hour or two of free time every night including eating but that's done and dusted now. Currently on vacation in Athens! Feeling all the mythology and I love it so much! Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review, favorite, and follow! :*

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Double Trouble**

"Don't you think you're being a little too eager about this? How do you know you like him?" Annabeth asked, pushing Piper away from her with her leg.

"I didn't say I like him as in _like_ him. Like I could go my whole life without seeing where this goes. But do I want to see where it goes? Hell yes. Jason is so nice and interesting and hot. Oh my god he's so fucking _hot_." Piper faked fanning herself as she collapsed onto the couch next to Annabeth.

"You do realize that the more you're around him, the more likely you are to let it slip that our relationship is a scheme?"

"Scheme ,shmeme, Annabeth. You know me. These lips do not kiss and tell—I know that's not what the saying refers to but you get it. Besides, if anything, I can distract him from noticing anything."

"What about when we break up?"

"Oh please. If there's nothing there, as you say," Piper glanced at Annabeth pointedly, "Then you can make it an amicable split, which means we don't have to do anything."

"But what if—" Annabeth asked, but Piper cut her off.

"You really don't have any more arguments, Annie. Besides, don't you want me to be happy?" Piper pouted.

"Ugh I suppose so," Annabeth sighed. Piper looked at her expectantly. "You guys _would_ make a cute couple," Annabeth conceded.

"Yay! Now set me up babe!" Piper squealed, hugging Annabeth tightly.

"Okay, we need to approach this casually. Make it seem like we're not making a big deal out of this. All right, Annabeth—we're cool, we're cool," Annabeth muttered to herself.

Piper laughed. "Remind me why you're setting me up?"

"Because I'm the one that has an in."

"How'd you get cool enough for that?"

Annabeth shot Piper a dirty look then turned her attention back to her phone. "Dear Percy," she started saying aloud as she pretended to type. "Piper is absolutely infatuated with Jason. Please tell me he feels the same way otherwise she's going to DIEEEEEE of heartbreak." Annabeth cackled.

Piper smacked her. "Don't joke. You _would_ do that."

"You're right. But that's the second step." She winked. "Here, how does this sound: 'Hey Percy, what does Jason think of Piper?'"

"Mmm… It could come across like I like him and want to know if he likes me back."

"But you do?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't need to know that. Just say you think we're cute or something."

"Ok fine. 'Hey Percy, did you see Jason and Piper the other day? They'd be so cute together, don't you think?'"

"Acceptable." Piper looked over Annabeth's shoulder. "Just send it before I rethink it."

"You sure? If it's a risky text, I can revise it."

"Nah," Piper waved her hand dismissively. "It's only a risky text if you care enough about it's contents. I told you—no crush here."

"Uh huh," Annabeth vocalized sarcastically. She hit send. "Well your not-risky text has been sent, Pipes. Now we wait."

"Oh I hope this goes well. I mean—" she recovered after Annabeth glanced over. "I wonder what's on TV"

Percy's phone beeped. He and Jason were having some quality bonding time, which really consisted of video games, song writing, and roasting their family. Thalia was meant to come over later to work on music, so Percy was trying to perfect a bridge, but it just wasn't happening. The notification was a welcome excuse.

He glanced down and furrowed his brow as he read the message. "Jace," Percy started. "What do you think of Piper?"

Jason looked up from his own notebook. "She's gorgeous. And she knows her literature," Jason said, getting a dreamy look on his face.

"All right there, lover boy," Percy said, suddenly uncomfortable with his cousin's ability to be in touch with his emotions, something Percy could only do with his music. "Do you like her?"

"Yeah she seems really cool. I'd like to ask her out. But I don't know if that's okay with you and Annabeth."

"Why does it matter what Annabeth and I think?" Percy asked, confused.

"I mean, you guys are together, and I just don't want you guys to feel uncomfortable. Like since you're our common link, we'd probably spend a lot of time with you guys, and if you don't want us together, it would be awkward."

Percy thought about how considerate, if a bit bonkers, Jason's reasoning was. Percy had never considered anything like that while pursuing a girl, albeit he had to admit that none of the girls he'd pursued were even remotely important to him. Still, he found himself wishing he was that good of a friend. It was putting himself before his band that got him in this whole fake dating situation in the first place, and he spent every day trying to redeem himself in his friends' eyes—both in this relationship with Annabeth, and personally.

"Well, I'll have you know," Percy said, pulling himself out of his thoughts, "That Annabeth and I would like to set you two up. She just asked if I thought you guys would be cute together."

"Oh. Well would we be? I never think about that kind of stuff."

"I mean, you guys definitely looked like a couple the other day, so sure."

"Sweet. So what now?"

"Well let me respond." He started typing

 _Ya I guess. Jason thinks Piper is cool. Wht does she think?_

 _Yeah she likes him. Shall we set them up?_

 _Hell yeah. What you got?_

 _Piper says double date :/_

Percy chuckled to himself. _Piper or you? ;)_

 _Shut up Jackson. She doesn't want to screw this up. As if us bickering will make it any better._

 _You never know. We always keep things interesting. ;)_

He could feel Annabeth rolling her eyes as the three dots bobbed up and down. _Whatever. Let's just plan this shit._

Annabeth and Piper showed up at the restaurant that Annabeth and Percy had picked. Hestia's Hearth was a young, upscale restaurant that served homey organic dishes. Piper had been once with her father for his birthday and loved it, and it had been on Annabeth's post of places to try for as long as it had been around. As they stepped inside, Annabeth evaluated the interior. The lighting was warm, as though lit by a million candles, while the wooden floors were a warm orange color, with matching accents on the creme walls. A small fire crackled just beyond the entrance area, and Annabeth noticed a few sconces in the wall holding Greek vases. Annabeth was instantly at ease.

The hostess said something cryptic into her headset then motioned for them to follow her. She led them through a maze of tables, all of varying sized, each cozier than the last. When she finally stopped, it was in front of a table in the corner occupied by two smiling boys. Percy and Jason, in coordinating crisp collared shirts—dark blue for Percy and light grey for Jason—stood up and pulled the chairs out for their respective dates. Jason pulled out an enormous bouquet and handed it to Piper. Percy, after a quick glance from Jason, followed suit. The bouquet Percy handed Annabeth was undoubtedly smaller than Piper's, but was, to Annabeth's mind, more beautiful. It was a myriad of roses in varying pastel hues, with sprigs of baby's breath tucked in, which looked exactly like a floral arrangement she had created in her home a couple of weeks prior.

"You really didn't need to get me a bouquet," Annabeth said, quirking her eyebrow. When Piper finished thanking Jason, Annabeth turned to him. "And you didn't need to force Percy to get me a bouquet—I know he's not that kind of person," she said without any bitterness. She got along rather well with Percy, but he was not a romantic by any means, and pretending otherwise would undoubtedly result in crushed hopes and disappointment.

"Oh, actually it was his idea," Jason said happily.

"Oh!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Thank you then, dear," she said, as Piper hit her thigh with her hand under the table and Percy made a conscious effort to study a very interesting spot on the table. She put her hand on his, which made him look up at her. He smiled a slight grin, replaced a second later by his winning smirk. Annabeth did not know what happened, but she was again struck by how confusing this boy was—to the point where he seemed to be two completely different people.

The group of four made small talk until they ordered there meals. Piper then turned to Percy and made as if she had something to say. "So Percy, how'd you two meet?"\

"Didn't Annabeth tell you?" Percy gulped, trying to size up Piper and Annabeth.

"Oh she did, but I wanted to hear it from you," she smirked. "Do you know, Jason," she asked innocently.

The blond boy laughed. "I heard briefly at your party, but these two skimmed on the details," he said good-naturedly.

"Well," Percy started. "Chiron, our manager, called me in obscenely early one morning. When I got there, him and Annabeth's manager, Reyna, were sitting there, plotting. As I sat there, cursing them for making me get up so early, this beautiful girl walks in. I'm not going to lie, we argued quite a bit that day. But I liked how she didn't fawn over me because of who I was. So I called Chiron, who called Reyna, and she agreed to go out with me for some odd reason. This was definitely their plan the whole time—it just irks me to know they're probably toasting each other every time we go out."

"Awwwww that's so cute!" Piper squealed, giving Annabeth a long look.

"Wait, you guys were set up?" Jason asked. "How come you never mentioned that?"

"I thought we did," Percy replied. "If not, it's probably because I hadn't come to terms with someone else being right."

"So this isn't—" Jason started.

"Dude, I could never be forced to date someone and you know that. I don't know what Chiron's reasons were for setting us up, but they aren't my reasons for dating Annabeth." Percy's hand clenched and Annabeth quickly covered it with her own.

The food came shortly, and more small talk was made. Piper talked about a shoot she had done recently in Greece and all of the amazing places she had seen around the country. Jason then started gushing about his, Percy, and Thalia's most recent trip to Greece to see their family. Percy occasionally chimed in a detail Jason left out, but, like Annabeth, he preferred watching how purely interested in each this new couple was.

Finally, dinner came to a close. As the plates were being taken away, Annabeth spoke up. "Ok so how are we dividing the check?"

"Oh, Percy and I already took care of it," Jason responded.

"I'm sorry, what?" Annabeth felt herself become angry.

"Oh no," Piper whispered.

"Percy, why did you not let me cover at least part of the bill?"

"We thought it would be easier this way!"

"We?" she turned to Jason and glowered.

"Guilty," he said, trying to maintain composure but looking mildly terrified.

"You didn't even ask!"

"Annabeth, calm down," Piper said, trying to pacify her friend. "I apologize, guys. Annabeth is all about equality. Honestly, I am too, and I agree with her, but in case you couldn't tell, her temper is wild." She shot Annabeth a glare as she said this last bit.

Annabeth took a deep break trying to regain composure. "Sorry about the outburst guys. I just don't like being in debt to anyone. But I guess I'll get Percy back for that." She grinned at him evilly.

Percy gulped at Annabeth's words and made sure to get behind her as they made their way out of the restaurant.


End file.
